Quotes by Composer | Beyond Motive

top of page

Quotes by Composer

"The real art of conducting consists in transitions."

"The real art of conducting consists in transitions."

Gustav Mahler, Austrian Composer

188

"The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music they should be taught to love it instead."

"The trouble with music appreciation in general is that people are taught to have too much respect for music they should be taught to love it instead."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Love, Music, People, Appreciation

175

"I foster a sorrowful conception of affection. Make no sacrifices."

"I foster a sorrowful conception of affection. Make no sacrifices."

Franz Liszt, Hungarian Composer

162

"But I do not want to use Hungarian verses for British people."

"But I do not want to use Hungarian verses for British people."

Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Composer

160

"Competitions are for horses, not artists."

"Competitions are for horses, not artists."

Bela Bartok, Hungarian Composer

Artist, Artists, Horses

156

"I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener."

"I could compare my music to white light which contains all colours. Only a prism can divide the colours and make them appear; this prism could be the spirit of the listener."

Arvo Part, Estonian Composer

Music, Light, Spirit

154

"Silence is the pause in me when I am near to God."

"Silence is the pause in me when I am near to God."

Arvo Part, Estonian Composer

149

"I feel that all good art is powerful and simple."

"I feel that all good art is powerful and simple."

Aulis Sallinen, Finnish Composer

143

"Tell me, I forget, show me, I remember, involve me, I understand."

"Tell me, I forget, show me, I remember, involve me, I understand."

Carl Orff, German Composer

133

"But if you go from Moscow to Budapest you think you are in Paris."

"But if you go from Moscow to Budapest you think you are in Paris."

Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Composer

130

"Once, in London, the BBC asked me what was my favorite English book. I said Alice in Wonderland."

"Once, in London, the BBC asked me what was my favorite English book. I said Alice in Wonderland."

Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Composer

Language, Favorite, London

129

"There's some familiarity in Celtic music, even if you've never heard that piece of music before."

"There's some familiarity in Celtic music, even if you've never heard that piece of music before."

Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese Composer

Music, Familiarity

128

"There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot."

"There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to see, something to hear. In fact, try as we may to make a silence, we cannot."

John Cage, American Composer

Time, Fact, May, Silence

128

"Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers - in my life, my music, my work. In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning."

"Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers - in my life, my music, my work. In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning."

Arvo Part, Estonian Composer

Life, Music, Work, Answers

126

"The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all."

"The human voice is the most perfect instrument of all."

Arvo Part, Estonian Composer

125

"I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it."

"I haven't understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

123

"The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution."

"The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Execution, Self

114

"I hope you will no longer accuse me of a lack of delicacy. as I now count on your understanding."

"I hope you will no longer accuse me of a lack of delicacy. as I now count on your understanding."

Gustav Mahler, Austrian Composer

Hope, Now, Understanding, Will

101

"Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal."

"Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Artist, Artists

101

"True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today."

"True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today."

George Gershwin, American Composer

Music, Time, Thought, People

98

"Wagner is a composer who has beautiful moments but awful quarter hours."

"Wagner is a composer who has beautiful moments but awful quarter hours."

Gioachino Rossini, Italian Composer

Moment, Moments

93

"I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge."

"I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Life, Wisdom, Knowledge, Mistakes

91

"My 10th Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun... they are the sun's kisses."

"My 10th Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun... they are the sun's kisses."

Alexander Scriabin, Russian Composer

Insects, Kisses, Sun

88

"Every night when I go to bed, I hope that I may never wake again, and every morning renews my grief."

"Every night when I go to bed, I hope that I may never wake again, and every morning renews my grief."

Franz Schubert, Austrian Composer

Hope, Bed, Grief, May

87

"Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable."

"Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable."

Leonard Bernstein, American Composer

86

"Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour."

"Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour."

Gioachino Rossini, Italian Composer

Moment, Moments

85

"I was once married to a woman who could eat anything and tell you what was in it: the most complicated recipes. Her memory of taste - now that's what I call memory!"

"I was once married to a woman who could eat anything and tell you what was in it: the most complicated recipes. Her memory of taste - now that's what I call memory!"

Morton Feldman, American Composer

Memory, Now, Taste, Woman

84

"Imagination creates reality."

"Imagination creates reality."

Richard Wagner, German Composer

Imagination, Reality

83

"Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day."

"Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day."

Franz Liszt, Hungarian Composer

83

"Music is organized sound."

"Music is organized sound."

Edgard Varese, American Composer

82

"The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play."

"The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play."

Richard Strauss, German Composer

81

"Whenever I felt happy about having discovered something, the first encounter, not only with the public, with other musicians, with specialists, etc, was that they rejected it."

"Whenever I felt happy about having discovered something, the first encounter, not only with the public, with other musicians, with specialists, etc, was that they rejected it."

Karlheinz Stockhausen, German Composer

First, Musicians, Public

80

"My grandfather was not a musician but he was an artist - a painter, a decorative painter."

"My grandfather was not a musician but he was an artist - a painter, a decorative painter."

Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Composer

80

"I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."

"I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."

Oscar Levant, American Composer

78

"What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven."

"What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven."

Ludwig van Beethoven, German Composer

78

"I think it was when I was nineteen, by that time the Jewish laws were already in force and the split was beginning to come about which isolated the Jewish culture."

"I think it was when I was nineteen, by that time the Jewish laws were already in force and the split was beginning to come about which isolated the Jewish culture."

Gyorgy Ligeti, Hungarian Composer

Time, Beginning, Culture, Force

77

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."

"There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line."

Oscar Levant, American Composer

Genius, Insanity

77

"In love's godlike breathing, there's the innermost aspect of the universe."

"In love's godlike breathing, there's the innermost aspect of the universe."

Alexander Scriabin, Russian Composer

77

"It is easy to write unthinking music."

"It is easy to write unthinking music."

George Crumb, American Composer

76

"A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."

"A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."

Gustav Mahler, Austrian Composer

73

"I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well."

"I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well."

Johannes Sebastian Bach, German Composer

73

"It is never right to play ragtime fast."

"It is never right to play ragtime fast."

Scott Joplin, American Composer

73

"Music is mediator between spiritual and sensual life."

"Music is mediator between spiritual and sensual life."

Ludwig van Beethoven, German Composer

Life, Music, Spiritual

73

"That is, the only reason salvation is necessary is to get us back to the garden. The Pentateuch not only presents where we began but also why we are not there any more, and why and how we need to get back."

"That is, the only reason salvation is necessary is to get us back to the garden. The Pentateuch not only presents where we began but also why we are not there any more, and why and how we need to get back."

David Baker, American Composer

Gardening, Garden, Reason, Salvation

71

"I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on."

"I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on."

Stephen Sondheim, American Composer

Choice, May, World

70

"Friends applaud, the comedy is over."

"Friends applaud, the comedy is over."

Ludwig van Beethoven, German Composer

Comedy, Friends

69

"A plague on eminence! I hardly dare cross the street anymore without a convoy, and I am stared at wherever I go like an idiot member of a royal family or an animal in a zoo; and zoo animals have been known to die from stares."

"A plague on eminence! I hardly dare cross the street anymore without a convoy, and I am stared at wherever I go like an idiot member of a royal family or an animal in a zoo; and zoo animals have been known to die from stares."

Igor Stravinsky, Russian Composer

Family, Animals

69

"A man only becomes wise when he begins to calculate the approximate depth of his ignorance."

"A man only becomes wise when he begins to calculate the approximate depth of his ignorance."

Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian Composer

69

"One can't judge Wagner's opera Lohengrin after a first hearing, and I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time."

"One can't judge Wagner's opera Lohengrin after a first hearing, and I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time."

Gioachino Rossini, Italian Composer

Time, First, Hearing, Opera

68

"I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you have costume, story, acting, orchestra."

"I firmly believe lyrics have to breathe and give the audience's ear a chance to understand what's going on. Particularly in the theater, where you have costume, story, acting, orchestra."

Stephen Sondheim, American Composer

Acting, Chance, Theater

68

bottom of page