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 a lonely man.
The symphony is the ultimate expression of human emotion.
Music is the echo of the invisible world.
I am a man of sorrows.
My music is a journey.
Music is the language of the angels.
I am a man of destiny.
The symphony is the universe in sound.
My music is a testament.
I am a man of fire.
If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not try to say it in music.
My music is not for today, but for tomorrow.
The artist must create a world of his own, or he will be swallowed up by the world.
The most important thing in music is not what is played, but what is not played.
The artist is the only one who can truly see the world.
The true artist is always ahead of his time.
The greatest music is that which is not understood at first.
The conductor must be a servant of the music.
There are no second acts in life.
My symphonies are not just music, they are a philosophy.
Contemporaries of Gustav Mahler
Other Musics born within 50 years of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).