My dear sister! Iβm amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartRead
My sole recreations consist in dancing English hornpipes and cutting capers. Italy is a land of sleep; I am always drowsy here.
Interpretation
Mozart expresses his lack of engagement with the drowsy culture of Italy, favoring lively activities.
In this quote, Mozart reveals his vibrant personality through his love for dance and lively music, contrasting it with his perception of Italy as a sleepy and dull place that does not energize him. His mention of dancing English hornpipes and cutting capers indicates his desire for joy and vitality in the rather tranquil ambiance he associates with Italy.
In practice
In a speech about pursuing passions, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of finding joy in activities.
My dear sister! Iβm amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.
I hope never to marry in this way; I wish to make my wife happy, but not to become rich by her means, so I will let things alone and enjoy my golden freedom till I am so well off that I can support both wife and children.
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.
I am one of those who will go on doing till all doings are at an end.
My Constanze is the virtuous, honourable, discreet, and faithful darling of her honest and kindly-disposed Mozart.
I cannot write in verse, for I am no poet. I cannot arrange the parts of speech with such art as to produce effects of light and shade, for I am no painter. Even by signs and gestures I cannot express my thoughts and feelings, for I am no dancer. But I can do so by means of sounds, for I am a musician.
To any artist, worthy of the name, all in nature is beautiful, because his eyes, fearlessly accepting all exterior truth, read there, as in an open book, all the inner truth.
How do poems grow? They grow out of your life.
The body says what words cannot.
I film normal-life subjects in natural settings that some people would consider uncinematic. But what I want to show is nature itself, as the truth of life.
I always prefer photographing in available light β or Rembrandt-light I like to call it β so you get the natural modulations of the face. It makes a more alive, real, and flattering portrait.
I hate to say this, but I always listen to the music and the instrumentation first, and then grab on to the lyrics later.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.