Quotes By Gustav Mahler

What I wanted and what I visualized while composing has not always been realized.

Destiny smiles upon me but without making me the least bit happier.

The longer you live and the more you learn, the more clearly you will feel the difference between the few men who are truly great and the mere virtuosi.

In its beginnings, music was merely chamber music, meant to be listened to in a small space by a small audience.

The real art of conducting consists in transitions.

I beg of you... never assume an inner or an outer pose, never a disguise.

I live like a Hottentot. I cannot exchange one sensible word with anyone.

I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.

Melodic invention is one of the surest signs of a divine gift.

An operetta is simply a small and gay opera.

I also had a brother who was like me a musician and a composer. A man of great talent, far more gifted than I. He died very young... he killed himself in the prime of his life.

I don't let myself get carried away by my own ideas - I abandon 19 out of 20 of them every day.

To judge a composer's work, one must consider it as a whole.