Skip to content
    skip to navigation

    Classic FM

    Listen

    On Air Now

    Composer Carousel with Zeb Soanes 9pm - 10pm

    Composer Carousel with Zeb Soanes

    Now Playing

    Symphony No.9 in D minor Opus 125 (4) (Extract) Ludwig Van Beethoven

    • Playlist
    • Schedule
    • Home
    • Radio
    • News
    • Discover Music
    • Composers
    • Artists
    • Win
    • Store
    • Charity
    • Podcasts
    • Events
    • Dating
    • Follow us on:
      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
    • Music Education
    • Humour
    • Women in Music
    • Lyrics
    • More Classic FM

    22 inspiring composer quotes

    Facebook 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

    Discover music

    See more Discover music

    5-year-old pianist to make history as youngest ever performer at Carnegie Hall

    5-year-old prodigy to make history as youngest ever pianist to perform at Carnegie Hall

    3 days ago

    Classic FM Live at 25 with Viking at the Royal Albert Hall

    Classic FM Live at 25 with Viking: join us for a spectacular concert at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2025!

    5 days ago

    Events

    Aled Jones and Stuart Burrows

    Child star Aled Jones sings with late tenor in poignant ‘Panis Angelicus’ duet

    7 days ago

    Aled Jones

    'Mission: Impossible' composer Lalo Schifrin has died aged 93.

    Iconic 'Mission: Impossible' composer Lalo Schifrin has died, aged 93

    10 days ago

    Glastonbury festival gates open to a brass band playing John Williams’ Superman

    Glastonbury festival gates open to a brass band playing John Williams’ Superman!

    11 days ago

    Williams

    Jonathan Bailey reveals he played clarinet on the ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ soundtrack

    Jonathan Bailey played clarinet solo on the ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ soundtrack – here’s proof

    12 days ago

    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.

    The 30 greatest classical music composers of all time

    Classic FM Live Playlists

    See more Classic FM Live Playlists

    Classic FM Hall of Fame

    Classic FM Relax

    Classic FM Video Game Music

    Classic FM Pet Classics

    Essential Classical

    Classic FM’s Baby Bedtime

    Browse by

    See more Browse by

    Periods & genres

    Occasions

    Moods

    Instruments

    Mood

    See more Mood

    Studying

    Relaxing

    Happy

    Epic

    Romantic

    Baby

    Occasions

    See more Occasions

    Wedding

    Memorial

    Valentine’s Day

    Christmas

    Latest on Classic FM

    Laufey sings ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in memory of Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota.

    Laufey sings ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Liverpool church in memory of footballer Diogo Jota

    Erik Satie

    27 lost works by Erik Satie heard for the first time, 100 years after the composer’s death

    Great British Summer

    Join us for a Great British Summer on Classic FM!

    Yunchan Lim plays Rachmaninov in the competition final

    Who is Yunchan Lim? Piano sensation’s debut Chopin album, competitions and best performances

    Timothy Richards performing ‘Nessun dorma’

    Welsh tenor stuns stag-do party with extraordinary performance of ‘Nessun dorma’

    Puccini

    Suspect and the missing violin

    Police hunt for stolen 285-year-old violin taken from a London pub

    The government has passed a new law on data used to train AI models, despite backlash from music stars including Elton John.

    Controversial AI transparency law passes despite backlash from musicians including Elton John

    New technology allows audiences to see inside the brain of a pianist as they play

    See INSIDE a pianist’s brain live for first time – with this groundbreaking new technology

    Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes presented with Betjeman Society Award for ‘bringing words and music alive’

    Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes presented with Betjeman Society Award for ‘bringing words and music alive’

    Alfred Brendel is remembered as one of the world’s most celebrated pianists

    Beloved Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel has died aged 94

    Alfred Brendel

    Back to top

    Also on Classic FM

    • Listen to Global Player
    • Classic FM Breakfast with Dan Walker
    • John Williams
    • Alexander Armstrong on Classic FM
    • Quizzes
    • Leonard Bernstein
    • Mozart
    • Debussy
    • Music theory
    • Instruments
    • Classic FM Live
    • Brahms
    • Vivaldi
    • Bach
    • Tchaikovsky
    • Chopin
    • Andrea Bocelli
    • Florence Price
    • Beethoven
    • Best classical music
    • Classic FM Requests
    • Best pianists
    • Harry Potter music
    • 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 Careers

    Download the app

    Get it on the app store Get it on Google Play

    Follow Us

    Follow Classic FM on Facebook
    Follow Classic FM on Instagram
    Follow Classic FM on Youtube
    © Global 2025
    30 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7LA
    Privacy Manager