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 thrice homeless, as a Bohemian among Austrians, as an Austrian among Germans, and as a Jew throughout the world.
To compose is to construct a world.
The artist must be a prophet, not a chronicler.
My symphonies are not just music; they are a world.
The symphony must be a mirror of the world.
I live in my music.
The creative process is a mystery.
I am a man of the mountains, of the snow, and of the storms.
The conductor is a medium through which the composer speaks.
My music is a struggle for light.
The artist must be true to himself.
Music is the most direct expression of the human soul.
I am a stranger everywhere.
The symphony is the last great form of music.
My music is a confession.
Music is the only language in which one can express the inexpressible.
I am a man of contradictions.
The conductor must serve the music, not himself.
My music is a search for truth.
The artist must be a rebel.
Contemporaries of Gustav Mahler
Other Musics born within 50 years of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).