A biography for Gustav Mahlerhasn’t been written yet.
“I hope you will no longer accuse me of a lack of delicacy. as I now count on your understanding.”
“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.”
“In the theatrical works we love and admire the most, the ending of the drama generally takes place offstage.”
“I have become a different person. I don't know whether this person is better, he certainly is not happier.”
“The longer you live and the more you learn, the more clearly you will feel the difference between the few men who are truly great and the mere virtuosi.”
“There is a world of difference between a Mahler eighth note and a normal eighth note.”
“I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.”
“It is easier to achieve a desired result in short pieces.”
“If I weren't the way I am, I shouldn't write my symphonies.”
“Discipline, work. Work, discipline.”
“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.”
“Never let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries. Continue steadfastly on one's way.”
“The real art of conducting consists in transitions.”
“With the coming of spring, I am calm again.”
“When I have reached a summit, I leave it with great reluctance, unless it is to reach for another, higher one.”
“I live like a Hottentot. I cannot exchange one sensible word with anyone.”
“I was a crazy young man who let himself be blinded by his passions and obeyed only the impulses of the moment.”
“The impressions of the spriritual experiences gave my future life its form and content.”
“It should be one's sole endeavor to see everything afresh and create it anew.”