Robert Schumann Quotes

To send light into the darkness of men's hearts - such is the duty of the artist.

The principal mark of genius is not perfection, but originality.

When you play, do not trouble yourself as to who is listening. Yet always play as though a master listened to you.

For me, music is always the language which permits one to converse with the Beyond.

To compose is to remember music that has never been written.

Remember, there are more people in the world than yourself. Be modest! You have not yet invented nor thought anything which others have not thought or invented before. And should you really have done so, consider it a gift of heaven which you are to share with others.

Talent works, genius creates.

When you play, never mind who listens to you.

Nothing right can be accomplished in art without enthusiasm.

You write to become immortal, or because the piano happens to be open, or you've looked into a pair of beautiful eyes.

Send light to the dark hearts of men, that is the duty the artist.

Endeavour to play easy pieces well and with elegance; that is better than to play difficult pieces badly.

I am so fresh in soul and spirit that life gushes and bubbles around me in a thousand springs.

A fiery, good beginner always stands higher than a master in mediocrity.

It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams; to see how his vision communicated itself through his playing, and how, at the end of each piece, he had the sad habit of running one finger over the length of the plaintive keyboard, as though to tear himself forcibly away from his dream.

In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of.

From a pound of iron, that costs little, a thousand watch-springs can be made, whose value becomes prodigious. The pound you have received from the Lord,--use it faithfully.

Art was not created as a way to riches. Strive to become a true artist; all else will take care of itself.

Without enthusiasm nothing great can be effected in art.

The aesthetic principle is the same in every art, only the material differs.

We have learned to express the more delicate nuances of feeling by penetrating more deeply into the mysteries of harmony.

"We liked it" or "I didn't like it" people say. As if it were nothing higher than to please the people!

The flame that is naturally clear always gives the most light and heat. If I could blend my talent for poetry and music into one, the light would burn still clearer, and I might go far.

Play always as if in the presence of a master.

We may be sure that a genius like Mozart, were he born today, would write concertos like Chopin and not like Mozart.