Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Musical prodigy, supreme melodist
Most quoted
"Since death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have for the past few years made myself so familiar with this truest best friend of mankind that its image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling! And I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness. I never lie down at night without reflecting that I may not see the next morning, and yet not one of all my acquaintances could say that I am morose or a bad companion. I daily thank my Creator for this happy disposition and heartily wish that all my fellow-creatures might enjoy it."
— from Letter to his father, 1787
"When I am traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly. All this fires my soul, and provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so that I can at a glance survey it like a fine picture or a beautiful statue."
— from Letter to his father
"I cannot write poetry; I am not a poet. I cannot arrange the parts of speech with such art as to produce effects of light and shade, for I am not a painter. Even by signs and gestures I cannot express my thoughts and feelings, for I am not a dancer. But I can do so by means of sounds, for I am a musician."
— from Attributed
All quotes by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (304)
For your own contentment, you must live within your means.
It is the heart that gives life to everything; and the understanding must only serve to form the head.
I am a wicked fellow.
I have come to the conclusion that one must not be too timid in composing.
I have so much to do that often I do not know whether I am on my head or my heels.
Next to God comes Papa.
I have only to look at your portrait to weep, half out of joy, half out of sorrow.
I am writing at the moment a sonata for myself and for my sister.
I am burning with desire to work.
I am composing like a god, as if it were second nature.
I have such a wonderful desire to write a book.
I am never happier than when I have something to compose, for that, after all, is my sole delight and passion.
I am a man, and a man who loves his wife.
I have made it a rule to imagine a happy and contented middle state in all things.
I am not in the habit of rewriting my compositions.
Music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.
My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in a proper way.
I am the most fortunate of men, for I have a wife who loves me and whom I love with all my heart.
I have just now a great deal of work to do, and I am not a little pleased at it, for work is my only pleasure.
I am writing in the greatest haste, for I am a very lazy correspondent.
Contemporaries of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Other Musics born within 50 years of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791).