“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.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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.”

“What's even worse than a flute? - Two flutes!”

“Melody is the essence of music.”

“Forgive me, Majesty. I am a vulgar man! But I assure you, my music is not.”

“Nevertheless the passions, whether violent or not, should never be so expressed as to reach the point of disgust; and music, even in situations of the greatest horror, should never be painful to the ear but should flatter and charm it.”

“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.”

“People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to compositions as I.”

“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...”

“Some fellow built a house here and wrote on it: When I built my house I was very glad, when I knew its cost I got very sad. (During the night somebody scribbled right under it:) Building a house takes a lot of loot, and you should have known it, you nincompoop.”

“What annoys me most is that these stupid Frenchmen think I am still just seven years old - because that was my age when they first saw me - (...) they treat me here like a beginner - except the musicians; they know better.”

“What else is genius than that productive power through which deeds arise, worthy of standing in the presence of God and Nature...”

“If people could see into my heart, I should almost feel ashamed - all there is cold, cold as ice.”

“love, love, love... that is the soul of genius”

“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”

“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

“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.”

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.”