Gioachino Rossini Quotes

Gioachino Rossini shares sly, grand commentary on music and composers that will amuse and provoke thought.

23 quotes

Je le prends deux fois par semaine, Haydn quatre fois et Mozart tous les jours. Vous me direz, Beethoven est un colosse, qui vous donne souvent des coups de poing dans les cotes, tandisque Mozart est toujours adorable. C'est que lui a eu la chance d'aller tres jeune en Italie a un epoque, ou l'on chantait encore bien.

#1
Bon Dieu; la voila terminee, cette pauvre petite messe. Est-ce bien de la musique sacree que je viens de faire, ou bien de la sacre musique ? J'etais ne pour l'opera buffa, tu le sais bien! Peu de science, un peu de coeur, tout est la. Sois donc beni et accorde-moi le Paradis.

#2
Cette petite composition qui est, helas, le dernier peche mortel de ma vieillesse.

#3
Monsieur Wagner a de beaux moments, mais de mauvais quart d'heures.

#4
Melodia semplice e varieta nel ritmo.

#5
Aspettate fino alla sera prima del giorno fissato per la rappresentazione. Nessuna cosa eccita piu l'estro come la necessita, la presenza d'un copista, che aspetta il vostro lavoro e la ressa d'un impresario in angustie, che si strappa a ciocche i capelli. A tempo mio in Italia tutti gli impresari erano calvi a trent'anni.

#6
Rossini, in music, is the genius of sheer animal spirits. It is a species as inferior to that of Mozart, as the cleverness of a smart boy is to that of a man of sentiment; but it is genius nevertheless.

#7
Rossini, divino Maestro, Helios von Italien, der du deine klingenden Strahlen uber die Welt verbreitest!

#8
His moral deficiencies as an artist were quite extraordinary. When he found the natural superiority of his genius in conflict with the ignorance and frivolity of the public - and the musical ignorance and frivolity of the Venetians and Neapolitans can hardly be overstated - he surrendered without a struggle. Although he was so able a man that it was easier and pleasanter to him to do his work intelligently than to conventionalize it and write down to the popular taste, he never persevered in any innovation that was not well received.

#9
The language of music is common to all generations and nations; it is understood by everybody, since it is understood with the heart.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the only musician who had as much knowledge asgenius, and as much genius as knowledge.
Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity, whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or the prodding of an impresario tearing his hair.
Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity.
Wagner has lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour.
If Beethoven is a prodigy of man, Bach is a miracle of God.
Music is a kind of harmonious language.
Wagner is a composer who has beautiful moments but awful quarter hours.
Every kind of music is good, except the boring kind.
One can't judge Wagner's opera Lohengrin after a first hearing, and I certainly don't intend to hear it a second time.
How wonderful opera would be if there were no singers.
Give me a laundry list and I'll set it to music.
Mr. Wagner has beautiful moments but bad quarters of an hour.
Beethoven I take twice a week, Haydn four times, and Mozart every day.