Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahlerwas an Austrian late-Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 his...
NationalityAustrian
ProfessionComposer
Date of Birth7 July 1860
CountryAustria
Behind me the branches of a wasted and sterile existence are cracking.
Tradition is laziness.
Life's been nothing but paperwork.
In the theatrical works we love and admire the most, the ending of the drama generally takes place offstage.
It's not just a question of conquering a summit previously unknown, but of tracing, step by step, a new pathway to it.
Only when I experience do I compose - only when I compose do I experience.
When I have reached a summit, I leave it with great reluctance, unless it is to reach for another, higher one.
I hope you will no longer accuse me of a lack of delicacy. as I now count on your understanding.
I live like a Hottentot. I cannot exchange one sensible word with anyone.
I am thrice homeless, as a native of Bohemia in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans, and as a Jew throughout the world. Everywhere an intruder, never welcomed.
It is always the same with me; only when I experience something do I compose, and only when composing do I experience! After all, a musician's nature can hardly be expressed in words.
What I wanted and what I visualized while composing has not always been realized.
I don't let myself get carried away by my own ideas - I abandon 19 out of 20 of them every day.
Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again.