Franz Schubert
Master of the art song (Lied)
Most quoted
"I am the unhappiest, most wretched man in the world. Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this, always makes things worse instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have come to naught, to whom the happiness of love and friendship offers nothing but the bitterest pain, and whose enthusiasm for the beautiful (at least inspiring) threatens to vanish; and ask yourself, is he not a wretched, unhappy man?"
— from Letter to Leopold Kupelwieser, 1824
"Oh, imagination! Thou greatest treasure of man, thou inexhaustible fount of all art and science! How many friends have I gained through thee, how many enemies hast thou made for me!"
— from Diary entry, 1816
"Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken."
— from Letter, 1826
All quotes by Franz Schubert (370)
I am a lover of harmony, a devotee of melody, a worshiper of rhythm.
I am a composer, and I must create beauty.
My music is a reflection of the human condition, a mirror of the soul.
I am a seeker of knowledge, a pursuer of wisdom, a student of life.
I am the unhappiest, most wretched man in the world.
I have composed much, and I have suffered much.
Do you know what I think? I think that I am a genius.
I never force myself to compose. When I don't feel like it, I don't.
I write because I cannot do otherwise.
My music is the language of my soul.
I am a poor, unhappy man, but I have a rich inner life.
I hope that my music will bring joy to people.
I am not a man of the world, but a man of music.
My music is my only comfort.
I am always striving for something better.
I have no friends, only acquaintances.
I am a lonely man.
I live in a world of my own.
I am not understood by others.
My music is my only language.
Contemporaries of Franz Schubert
Other Musics born within 50 years of Franz Schubert (1797–1828).