Ludwig van Beethoven Quotations | Page 2

In the world of art, as in the whole of creation, freedom and progress are the main objectives.

I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.

You ask me where I get my ideas. That I cannot tell you with certainty. They come unsummoned, directly, indirectly - I could seize them with my hands - out in the open air, in the woods, while walking, in the silence of the nights, at dawn, excited by moods which are translated by the poet into words, by me into tones that sound and roar and storm about me till I have set them down in notes.

I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.

Even in poverty I lived like a king for I tell you that nobility is the thing that makes a king

Artists who have won fame are often embarrassed by it; thus their first works are often their best.

What will be the judgment a century hence concerning the lorded works of our favorite composers today? Inasmuch as nearly everything is subject to the changes of time, and - more's the pity- the fashions of time, only that which is good and true will endure like a rock and no wanton hand will ever venture to defile it. Then, let every man do that which is right, strive with all his might towards the goal which can never be obtained, develop to the last breath the gifts with which the gracious Creator has endowed him, and never cease to learn. For life is short, art eternal.

I change many things, discard others, and try again and again until I am satisfied; then, in my head, I being to elaborate the work in its breadth, its narrowness, its height, its depth...I hear and see the image in front of me from every angle as if it had been cast and only the labour of writing it down remains.

It seemed unthinkable for me to leave the world forever before I had produced all that I felt called upon to produce

From the glow of enthusiasm I let the melody escape. I pursue it. Breathless I catch up with it. It flies again, it disappears, it plunges into a chaos of diverse emotions. I catch it again, I seize it, I embrace it with delight... I multiply it by modulations, and at last I triumph in the first theme. There is the whole symphony.

The real artist has no pride. Unfortunately he sees that his art has no limits. He feels obscurely how far he is from the goal. While he is perhaps being admired by others, he mourns the fact that he has not yet reached the point to which his better genius, like a distant sun, ever beckons to him.

In the country It seems as if every tree Said to me 'Holy! Holy!' Who can ever express The ecstasy of the woods! Almighty One, In the woods I am blessed. Happy every one in the woods. Every tree speaks through Thee. O God! What glory in the woodland.

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. Although the spirit be not master of that which it creates through music, yet it is blessed in this creation, which, like every creation of art, is mightier than the artist.

I want to seize fate by the throat.

All my life I have regarded myself as one of Mozart's greatest admirers, and I will remain one until my last breath.

Recommend to your children to be virtuous, only the virtue can bring us happiness, not the money.

No friend have I. I must live by myself alone; but I know well that God is nearer to me than others in my art, so I will walk fearlessly with Him.

I love a tree more than a man.

I shall hear in heaven.

Don't only practise your art, but force your way into its secrets.

such incidents brought me to the verge of despair, but little more and I would have put an end to my life - only art it was that withheld me, - ah, it seemed impossible to leave the world until I had produced all that I had felt called upon to produce.

To play without passion is inexcusable!

Life would be flat without music. It is the background to all I do. It speaks to the heart in its own special way like nothing else.

Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears form the eyes of woman.

Music can change the world.

Love demands all, and has a right to all.

Hide your secret even from the closest friend; learn to be silent...

An artist is someone who has learned to trust in himself.

If I contemplate myself as part of the Universe: what am I?

Then let us all do what is right, strive with all our might toward the unattainable, develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given us, and never stop learning

Do you think I give a damn about your and your pathetic violin?

The vibrations on the air are the breath of God speaking to man's soul. Music is the language of God. We musicians are as close to God as man can be. We hear his voice, we read his lips, we give birth to the children of God, who sing his praise. That's what musicians are.

What is to reach the heart must come from above; if it does not come from thence, it will be nothing but notes, body without spirit.

I haven't a single friend; I must live alone. But well I know that God is nearer to me than to the others of my art; I associate with Him without fear, I have always recognized and understood Him, and I have no fear for my music,-it can meet no evil fate. Those who understand it must become free from all the miseries that the others drag with them.

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.

I wish you music to help with the burdens of life ,and to help you release your happiness to others.