Mozart Quotes About God, Death, and Music
January 20, 2021 7:00 AM EST
These Mozart quotes on death and music will give you a newfound appreciation of his performances.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a classical composer known for his symphonies, concertos, and operas.
He is often regarded as a musical prodigy because he had already mastered violin and keyboard at the age of five.
This collection of quotes will make you want to listen to the greatest works ever created by this talented composer.
This list contains English translations of many Mozart quotes in German.
At the end of the day, music is a universal language that can be understood by all.
These Mozart quotes on death, God and music will make you appreciate his deep insight and prodigious musical talents.
As one of the greatest composers of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart redefined classical music.
Share these Mozart quotes with all of the music lovers in your life.
Don’t forget to also check out these music quotes on how it heals our soul.
Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.
Check out our entire collection of motivational quotes here.
Mozart quotes about God, death, and music
1. “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” – Mozart
2. “I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” – Mozart
3. “I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity of learning that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.” – Mozart
4. “To talk well and eloquently is a very great art, but that an equally great one is to know the right moment to stop.” – Mozart
5. “I cannot write poetically, for I am no poet. I cannot make fine artistic phrases that cast light and shadow, for I am no painter. I can neither by signs nor by pantomime express my thoughts and feelings, for I am no dancer; but I can by tones, for I am a musician.” – Mozart
6. “Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” – Mozart
7. “I am one of those who will go on doing till all doings are at an end.” – Mozart
8. “We live in this world in order always to learn industriously and to enlighten each other by means of discussion and to strive vigorously to promote the progress of science and the fine arts.” – Mozart
9. “Believe me, I do not like idleness but work.” – Mozart
10. “When I am traveling in a carriage or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that ideas flow best and most abundantly.” – Mozart
Mozart quotes to give you a deeper appreciation of his music
11. “The golden mean, the truth, is no longer recognized or valued. To win applause one must write stuff so simple that a coachman might sing it, or so incomprehensible that it pleases simply because no sensible man can comprehend it.” – Mozart
12. “You know that I immerse myself in music, so to speak— that I think about it all day long— that I like experimenting— studying— reflecting.” – Mozart
13. “Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of causing disgust; and music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it, and thereby always remain music.” – Mozart
14. “Our riches, being in our brains, die with us… Unless of course, someone chops off our head, in which case, we won’t need them anyway.” – Mozart
15. “Just as people behave to me, so do I behave to them. When I see that a person despises me and treats me with contempt, I can be as proud as any peacock.” – Mozart
16. “One must not make oneself cheap here – that is a cardinal point – or else one is done. Whoever is most impertinent has the best chance.” – Mozart
17. “It is a great consolation for me to remember that the Lord, to whom I had drawn near in humble and child-like faith, has suffered and died for me, and that He will look on me in love and compassion.” – Mozart
18. “How sad it is that these great gentlemen should believe what anyone tells them and do not choose to judge for themselves! But it is always so.” – Mozart
19. “An unmarried man, in my opinion, enjoys only half a life.” – Mozart
20. “The most stimulating and encouraging thought is that you, dearest father, and my dear sister, are well, that I am an honest German, and that if I am not always permitted to talk I can think what I please; but that is all.” – Mozart
Mozart quotes to make you appreciate his prodigious musical talents
21. “The happy medium – truth in all things – is no longer either known or valued; to gain applause, one must write things so inane that they might be played on barrel-organs, or so unintelligible that no rational being can comprehend them, though, on that very account, they are likely to please.” – Mozart
22. “If I were obliged to marry all those with whom I have jested, I should have at least two hundred wives.” – Mozart
23. “Versification is, indeed, indispensable for music, but rhyme, solely for rhyming’s sake, most pernicious.” – Mozart
24. “I hope never to marry in this way; I wish to make my wife happy, but not to become rich by her means, so I will let things alone and enjoy my golden freedom till I am so well off that I can support both wife and children.” – Mozart
25. “My father is maestro at the Metropolitan church, which gives me an opportunity to write for the church as much as I please.” – Mozart
26. “I beg you most humbly to go on loving me just a little and to make do with these poor congratulations until I get some new drawers made for my small and narrow brainbox in which I can keep the brains that I still intend to acquire.” – Mozart
27. “My fatherland has always the first claim on me.” – Mozart
28. “I live in a country where music has very little success, though, exclusive of those who have forsaken us, we have still admirable professors and, more particularly, composers of great solidity, knowledge, and taste.” – Mozart
29. “It is a mistake to think that the practice of my art has become easy to me. I assure you, dear friend, no one has given so much care to the study of composition as I. There is scarcely a famous master in music whose works I have not frequently and diligently studied.” – Mozart
30. “A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.” – Mozart
Have you seen these Mamma Mia quotes from the musical romantic comedy?
Mozart quotes to brighten your day
31. “If one has the talent it pushes for utterance and torments one; it will out, and then one is out with it without questioning.” – Mozart
32. “The only thing–I tell you this straight from the heart–that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can’t have any proper social intercourse with those people–and that music does not have a better reputation…For I assure you, without travel, at least for people from the arts and sciences, one is a miserable creature!” – Mozart
33. “If the archbishop would trust me, I would soon make his music famous; that is surely true.” – Mozart
34. “All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.” – Mozart
35. “I should like to know for what reason idleness is so popular with many young people that it is impossible to dissuade them from it either by words or by chastisements.” – Mozart
36. “As death, when we come to consider it closely, is the true goal of our existence, I have formed during the last few years such close relationships with this best and truest friend of mankind that death’s image is not only no longer terrifying to me, but is indeed very soothing and consoling.” – Mozart
37. “Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpoints to hack post-horses; therefore be advised, let well alone and remember the old Italian proverb: Chi sa più, meno sa—Who knows most, knows least.” – Mozart
38. “I know nothing new except that Herr Gellert, the Leipzig poet, is dead, and has written no more poetry since his death.” – Mozart
39. “My sole recreations consist in dancing English hornpipes and cutting capers. Italy is a land of sleep; I am always drowsy here.” – Mozart
40. “My dear sister! I’m amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.” – Mozart
Mozart quotes that will make your day
41. “When I come to reflect on the subject, in no country have I received such honors or been so esteemed as in Italy, and nothing contributes more to a man’s fame than to have written Italian operas, and especially for Naples.” – Mozart
42. “As for pupils, I can have as many as I choose, but I do not choose to take many. I intend to be better paid than others, and so I wish to have fewer scholars. It is advisable to hang back a little at first, or it is all over with you, and you must pursue the common highway with the rest.” – Mozart
43. “What’s even worse than a flute? – Two flutes!” – Mozart
44. “I never lie down at night without reflecting that —- young as I am — I may not live to see another day. Yet no one of all my acquaintances could say that in company I am morose or disgruntled.” – Mozart
45. “I know myself, and I have such a sense of religion that I shall never do anything which I would not do before the whole world; but I am alarmed at the very thoughts of being in the society of people, during my journey, whose mode of thinking is so entirely different from mine (and from that of all good people). But of course, they must do as they please. I have no heart to travel with them, nor could I enjoy one pleasant hour, nor know what to talk about; for, in short, I have no great confidence in them. Friends who have no religion cannot be long our friends.” – Mozart
46. “Forgive me, Majesty. I am a vulgar man! But I assure you, my music is not.” – Mozart
47. “I am not thoughtless but am prepared for anything and as a result can wait patiently for whatever the future holds in store, and I’ll be able to endure it.” – Mozart
48. “If Germany, my beloved fatherland, of whom you know I am proud, will not accept me, then must I, in the name of God, again make France or England richer by one capable German; — and to the shame of the German nation.” – Mozart
49. “They probably think because I am so small and young, nothing of greatness and class can come out of me; but they shall soon find out.” – Mozart
50. “Stay with me to-night; you must see me die. I have long had the taste of death on my tongue, I smell death, and who will stand by my Constanze, if you do not stay?” – Mozart
You might also like these Frank Zappa quotes from one of the greatest musicians in history.
More Mozart quotes and sayings
51. “Music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
52. “Music is my life and my life is music. Anyone who does not understand this is not worthy of God.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
53. “Music must never offend the ear, but must please the listener, or, in other words, must never cease to be music.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
54. “God is ever before my eyes. I realize his omnipotence and I fear His anger; but I also recognize his compassion and His tenderness towards His creatures.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
55. “The most necessary, most difficult and principal thing in music, that is time.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
56. “Writing music is my one and only passion and joy.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
57. “It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.” – Tom Lehrer
58. “Mozart’s music is so pure and beautiful that I see it as a reflection of the inner beauty of the universe.” – Albert Einstein
59. “Music is the sound of God, Nannerl. If given the talent, it means God has chosen you as an ambassador for His voice. Your music will be as if God has given you eternal life.” – Marie Lu
60. “Mozart is just God’s way of making the rest of us feel insignificant.” – David W. Barber
What are your favorite Mozart quotes about music and God?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made huge impacts in music and pop culture.
This talented musician innovated several musical styles and redefined the genre of classical music.
Read this list of Mozart quotes to honor his talents and achievements.
Throughout his life, Mozart was a devout Roman Catholic.
He took his religion very seriously, as evidenced by these Mozart quotes about God.
When you listen to his symphonies and operas, you can hear the importance of God and faith.
The next time you hear a Mozart performance, remember his words of wisdom and unique perspectives on life.
His quotes will give you meaningful insight into his mind and a deeper appreciation of his music.
Share these Mozart quotes with your friends and family to inspire their natural talents.
What are your favorite Mozart quotes and sayings about composing classical music?
Let us know in the comment section below.