Giuseppe Verdi
Greatest Italian opera composer
Most quoted
"I adore art... when I am alone with my notes, my heart pounds, and the tears stream from my eyes, and my emotion and my inspiration are so great that I have to sing them out loud."
— from Letter, 1871
"I adore art... when I am alone with my notes, my heart pounds and the tears stream from my eyes, and my emotion and my joys are too much to bear."
— from Letter to Countess Maffei, 1875
"Of all composers, past and present, I am the least learned. I mean that in all seriousness, and by learning I do not mean knowledge of music."
— from Letter to Arrivabene, 1871
All quotes by Giuseppe Verdi (398)
The artist must be a poet, a painter, and a musician.
I am not a man of theories, but a man of practice.
Music is the most powerful of all the arts.
I have always tried to make my music clear and intelligible.
I am a man of my time, and I write for my time.
The most difficult thing in music is to be simple.
I have always tried to make my music human.
I am a man who loves his country.
The most important thing in art is to feel.
I have always tried to make my music true to life.
The artist must be a man of his word.
I am a man who believes in hard work.
Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.
I have always tried to make my music accessible to all.
I am a man who loves his family.
I have always tried to make my music expressive of the text.
I am a man who believes in justice.
Music is the breath of life.
I have always tried to make my music powerful and moving.
The artist must be a man of humility.
Contemporaries of Giuseppe Verdi
Other Musics born within 50 years of Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901).