Giuseppe Verdi

I don't like music that smells of the lamp.

I am a man of few words, but many notes.

The true artist suffers more than he enjoys.

I have passed my life in the service of the theatre, which I have loved and hated.

I am old, I am tired, and I am disgusted with the world.

Politics is a dirty business. I prefer music.

I never compose without a bottle of wine and a good cigar.

The older I get, the more I love the countryside and hate the city.

I would rather write one beautiful melody than a hundred learned fugues.

I have no illusions about art; it is a serious business.

I am a composer of music, not a philosopher.

I have never sought to please the critics, but only the public.

My opera is not a success unless the audience cries.

I don't believe in progress; I believe in good and bad.

I have always been a loner, and I prefer it that way.

Music is a divine art, but it must be human.

I am like a tree that bears fruit in its old age.

I have no taste for metaphysics; I prefer good music and good food.

Simplicity is the most difficult thing to achieve.

I am a slave to my art, and I love my chains.