Gustav Mahler

I was a crazy young man who let himself be blinded by his passions and obeyed only the impulses of the moment. ”

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. ”

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. ”

The impressions of the spriritual experiences gave my future life its form and content. ”

Behind me the branches of a wasted and sterile existence are cracking. ”

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

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

Beauty and fullness of tone can be achieved by having the whole orchestra play with high clarinets and a carefully selected number of piccolos. ”

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

Discipline, work. Work, discipline. ”