Gustav Mahler
Visionary symphonist who bridged Romanticism and Modernism
Most quoted
"The important thing is never to let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries; to continue steadfastly on one's way without letting oneself be either defeated by failure or diverted by applause."
— from Letter, 1902
"The further I get in my development, the more I see that the ultimate goal of the artist is to achieve *through his art* the picture of the world which is purely his own."
— from Letter to Max Marschalk, 1896
"The point is not to take the world's opinion as a guiding star but to go one's way in life and working unerringly, neither depressed by failure nor seduced by applause."
— from Letter to Max Kalbeck, 1902
All quotes by Gustav Mahler (346)
I am not a pessimist; I am a realist who sees the divine in suffering.
Music is the bridge between the visible and the invisible.
To write a symphony is to build a cathedral.
Happiness lies in the fulfillment of one's destiny.
The orchestra is an army; the conductor, its general.
Love is the eternal theme of all great music.
I seek in music what the poet seeks in words.
Death is not an end, but a transformation.
The true artist lives for the work, not the applause.
In silence, the deepest music is composed.
My life is a struggle between my Jewish soul and my German culture.
Innovation in music comes from the heart's unrest.
The score is but a blueprint; the performance is the building.
Joy and sorrow are the two wings of the soul.
I compose as a bird sings, by necessity.
The world is a symphony of contradictions.
True mastery is in simplicity.
Music heals the wounds of the spirit.
The future of music lies in its emotional depth.
I am a wanderer in the realms of sound.
Contemporaries of Gustav Mahler
Other Musics born within 50 years of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).