My mind and fingers have worked like the damned. Homer, the Bible, Plato, Locke, Lamartine, Chateaubriand, Beethoven, Bach, Hummel, Mozart, Weber are all around me. I study them. I devour them with fury.
Franz LisztRead
Mournful and yet grand is the destiny of the artist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The artist's journey is filled with both sorrow and greatness.
This quote by Franz Liszt reflects on the dual nature of an artist's life, where they experience deep emotions and struggles, yet also achieve remarkable and profound beauty through their work. It underscores the idea that the path of an artist is often bittersweet—a mix of hardships and transcendent achievements that ultimately contribute to their legacy and impact on the world.
Themes
ArtistDestinySorrowGreatnessCreation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an art presentation to illustrate the emotional depth of artists.
More from Franz Liszt
All quotes →It is my fervent wish and my greatest ambition to leave a work with a few useful instructions for the pianists after me.
Franz LisztRead
Music is the heart of life." She speaks love; "without it, there is no possible good and with it everything is beautiful.
Franz LisztRead
For the virtuoso, musical works are in fact nothing but tragic and moving materializations of his emotions; he is called upon to make them speak, weep, sing and sigh, to recreate them in accordance with his own consciousness. In this way he, like the composer, is a creator, for he must have within himself those passions that he wishes to bring so intensely to life.
Franz LisztRead
I conclude that the Wagnerian operas which are already in the repertoire, and other masterworks as well, stand in no further need of my services.
Franz LisztRead
Music is never stationary; successive forms and styles are only like so many resting-places - like tents pitched and taken down again on the road to the Ideal.
Franz LisztRead
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