Skip to content
    skip to navigation

    Classic FM

    Listen

    On Air Now

    Alexander Armstrong 9am - 12pm

    Alexander Armstrong

    Now Playing

    'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' Anon

    'O Come, O Come Emmanuel' artwork
    • Playlist
    • Schedule
    • Home
    • Radio
    • News
    • Discover Music
    • Composers
    • Artists
    • Win
    • Store
    • Charity
    • Podcasts
    • Events
    • Dating
    • Follow us on:
      Follow Classic FM on X
      Follow Classic FM on Facebook
      Follow Classic FM on Instagram
      Follow Classic FM on Youtube

    Discover Music

    • Discover Music Home
    • Periods & Genres
    • Occasions
    • Mood
    • Instruments
    • Music Theory
    • Learning
    • Humour
    • Women in Music
    • Lyrics
    • More Classic FM

    22 inspiring composer quotes

    Facebook share X share

    Classical composers are sometimes just as good at quotes as they are at music. Take a look at these amazing, inspirational quotes from some of the greatest composers of all time.

    1. claude debussy works of art make rules

      1. Claude Debussy

      Claude Debussy: "Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art."

    2. leonard bernstein not enough time

      2. Leonard Bernstein

      Leonard Bernstein: "To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time."

    3. bela bartok competitions are for horses

      3. Bela Bartok

      Bela Bartok: "Competitions are for horses, not artists."

    4. franz liszt mournful yet grand

      4. Franz Liszt

      Franz Liszt: "Mournful and yet grand is the destiny of the artist."

    5. gustav mahler hitting my head

      5. Gustav Mahler

      Gustav Mahler: "I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way."

    6. igor stravinsky great artists steal

      6. Igor Stravinsky

      Igor Stravinsky: "Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal."

    7. edward elgar god was against art

      7. Edward Elgar

      Edward Elgar: "I always said God was against art and I still believe it."

    8. johannes brahms without craftsmanship

      8. Johannes Brahms

      Johannes Brahms: "Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind."

    9. joseph haydn forced to become original

      9. Joseph Haydn

      Joseph Haydn: "There was no one near to confuse me, so I was forced to become original."

    10. composer quotes

      10. Georges Bizet

      George Bizet: "As a musician I tell you that if you were to suppress adultery, fanaticism, crime, evil, the supernatural, there would no longer be the means for writing one note."

    11. johann sebastian bach obliged to be industrious

      11. Johann Sebastian Bach

      J.S. Bach: "I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed equally well."

    12. erik satie most modest of animals also the proudest

      12. Erik Satie

      Erik Satie: "The musician is perhaps the most modest of animals, but he is also the proudest."

    13. robert schumann send light into the darkness

      13. Robert Schumann

      Robert Schumann: "To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist."

    14. dmitri shostakovich not satisfied with his previous one

      14. Dmitri Shostakovich

      Dmitri Shostakovich: "A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one."

    15. richard strauss first rate composer

      15. Richard Strauss

      Richard Strauss: "I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer."

    16. john cage frightened of new ideas

      16. John Cage

      John Cage: "I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."

    17. karlheinz stockhausen i'm an adventurer

      17. Karlheinz Stockhausen

      Karlheinz Stockhausen: "I'm an adventurer. I like invention, I like discovery."

    18. benjamin britten night time is for sleeping

      18. Benjamin Britten

      Benjamin Britten: "The old idea of a composer suddenly having a terrific idea and sitting up all night to write it is nonsense. Nighttime is for sleeping."

    19. giacomo puccini inspiration is an awakening

      19. Giacomo Puccini

      Giacomo Puccini: "Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man's faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements."

    20. malcolm arnold the strongest there is

      20. Malcolm Arnold

      Malcolm Arnold: "Music is the social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is."

    21. maurice ravel the only love affair i have ever had is with music

      21. Maurice Ravel

      Maurice Ravel: "The only love affair I have ever had was with music."

    22. richard wagner imagination creates reality

      22. Richard Wagner

      Richard Wagner: "Imagination creates reality."

    Facebook share X share

    Discover music

    See more Discover music

    What are the lyrics to ‘O Come O Come Emmanuel’?

    What are the lyrics to ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’, and what is the Christmas carol really about?

    14 hours ago

    Christmas

    From Mary Had a Little Lamb to Humpty Dumpty - the best nursery rhymes

    10 best nursery rhymes ever written

    2 days ago

    Once in Royal David's City

    What are the lyrics to ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ – and who composed it?

    2 days ago

    Christmas

    Classic FM is the home of Christmas music

    Advent music: 10 best carols and hymns to begin the festive season

    3 days ago

    Christmas

    Classic FM’s radio highlights for Christmas 2023, from carol concerts to the nativity

    Classic FM at Christmas: radio highlights in 2023

    3 days ago

    Christmas

    Maria Callas’ most iconic photographs

    Maria Callas’ most iconic photographs, on her 100th anniversary

    3 days ago

    Maria Callas

    Best classical music

    See more Best classical music

    The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

    The 15 most famous tunes in classical music

    Best symphonies: Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak and Florence Price

    The 15 greatest symphonies of all time

    4 eras of classical music

    The 4 eras of classical music: a quick guide

    A young Marin Alsop, Sir Simon Rattle, and Seiji Ozawa conduct their respective orchestras.

    The 25 greatest conductors of all time

    Hildegard von Bingen, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Edward Elgar among the greatest composers in classical music history.

    30 of the greatest classical music composers of all time

    Best pianists of all time

    The 25 best pianists of all time

    Classic FM Live Playlists

    See more Classic FM Live Playlists

    Classic FM Christmas

    Classic FM Hall of Fame

    Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame

    Classic FM Relax

    Classic FM Video Game Music

    Classic FM Pet Classics

    Browse by

    See more Browse by

    Periods & genres

    Occasions

    Moods

    Instruments

    Latest on Classic FM

    The 10 best pieces of music by German composer Gustav Mahler.

    10 of Mahler’s most earth-shattering pieces of music

    Mahler

    Jonas Kaufmann performs during a dress rehearsal at Sydney Opera House in 2023

    Who is Jonas Kaufmann, the German opera singer often called ‘the world’s greatest tenor’?

    Jonas Kaufmann

    The 10 best pieces of music by American maestro and composer, Leonard Bernstein.

    Leonard Bernstein: 10 best pieces of music by the American maestro

    Bernstein, L

    Classic FM Live with Viking

    Classic FM Live returns to the Royal Albert Hall for a night of classical music anthems

    Events

    Colette Maze, who became the oldest pianist to record an album aged 108, has died at the age of 109.

    World’s oldest recording pianist, the inspiring Colette Maze, dies aged 109

    A biopic about Maurice Ravel and his iconic ‘Boléro’ is coming soon

    A new biopic about Maurice Ravel and his iconic ‘Boléro’ is set for 2024 release

    Ravel

    O Holy Night

    What are the lyrics to ‘O Holy Night’, in French and English?

    Christmas

    Beethoven and West Side Story

    Leonard Bernstein borrowed a famous Beethoven melody for West Side Story’s most emotional scene

    Bernstein, L

    The Nation’s Favourite Carol with Viking on Classic FM

    Vote for your favourite Christmas carol in The Nation’s Favourite Carol with Viking 2023

    Christmas

    Yannick Nézet-Séguin on teaching Bradley Cooper to conduct

    ‘He should pursue conducting’ – the real maestro who taught Bradley Cooper to conduct like Bernstein

    Bernstein, L

    Back to top

    Also on Classic FM

    • Listen to Global Player
    • Alexander Armstrong on Classic FM
    • Google Doodle
    • Quizzes
    • Mozart
    • Debussy
    • Music theory
    • Instruments
    • Classic FM Live
    • Brahms
    • Vivaldi
    • Bach
    • LBC News
    • Tchaikovsky
    • Chopin
    • Andrea Bocelli
    • Florence Price
    • Beethoven
    • Best classical music
    • Classic FM Requests
    • Best pianists
    • Harry Potter music
    • Saturday Night at the Movies
    • Star Wars soundtrack
    • Composer or pasta
    • Music for Studying
    • Best violinists
    • Classical music tearjerkers
    • Relaxing classical

    Useful Links

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • How To Listen
    • About Classic FM
    • Company Details
    • Cookies
    • Privacy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Advertise
    • Global Jobs

    Download the app

    Get it on the app store Get it on Google Play

    Follow Us

    Follow Classic FM on X
    Follow Classic FM on Facebook
    Follow Classic FM on Instagram
    Follow Classic FM on Youtube
    © Global 2023
    30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA
    Privacy Manager