Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
God first, then papa.
Melody is the essence of music.
I am a fool. That is well known.
I write [music] as a sow piddles.
Creativity is the firing of my soul.
Love guards the heart from the abyss.
Music is my life and my life is music.
As I love Mannheim, Mannheim loves me.
I really do not aim at any originality.
I choose such notes that love one another.
Directly after God in heaven comes a Papa.
Believe me, I do not like idleness but work.
What's even worse than a flute? - Two flutes!
Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.
A bachelor, in my opinion, is only half alive.
My fatherland has always the first claim on me.
Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.
Writing music is my one and only passion and joy.
Now there is music from which a man can learn something.
If only the whole world could feel the power of harmony.
An unmarried man, in my opinion, enjoys only half a life.
The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.
The best way to learn is through the powerful force of rhythm.
I too had to work hard, so as not to have to work hard any longer.
To my eyes and ears the organ will ever be the King of Instruments.
I am one of those who will go on doing till all doings are at an end.
It is a mistake to think that the price of my art has become easy to me.
She's only pretty in that she has two small black eyes and a good figure.
Forgive me, Majesty. I am a vulgar man! But I assure you, my music is not.
To win applause one must write stuff so simple that a coachman might sing it.
The most necessary, most difficult and principal thing in music, that is time.
The taste of death is upon my lips. I feel something that is not of this earth.
I love it when an aria fits a singer as perfectly as a suit of well-tailored clothes.
As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence . . .
I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.
Music is my life and my life is music. Anyone who does not understand this is not worthy of God.
If people could see into my heart, I should almost feel ashamed - all there is cold, cold as ice.
Silence is very important. The silence between the notes are as important as the notes themselves.
Handel understands effect better than any of us -- when he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.
Patience and tranquility of mind contribute more to cure our distempers as the whole art of medicine
I never lie down at night without reflecting that, young as I am, I may not live to see another day.
If I were obliged to marry all those with whom I have jested, I should have at least two hundred wives.
Versification is, indeed, indispensable for music, but rhyme, solely for rhyming's sake, most pernicious.
You know that I become quite powerless whenever I am obliged to write for an instrument which I cannot bear.
I am never happier than when I have something to compose, for that, after all, is my sole delight and passion
Music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure.
Music must never offend the ear, but must please the listener, or, in other words, must never cease to be music.
Write to me and don't be so lazy. Otherwise I shall have to give you a thrashing. What fun! I'll break your head.
Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of disgust.
Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpoints to hack post-horses.