Pyotr Tchaikovsky Quotes

If you do not want to write, at least spit on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope, and send it to me. You are not taking any notice of me at all. God forgive you – all I wanted was a few words from you.

There is no doubt that even the greatest musical geniuses have sometimes worked without inspiration. This guest (inspiration) does not always respond to the first invitation. We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavouring to meet it half-way, we easily become indolent and apathetic. We must be patient, and believe that inspiration will come to those who can master their disinclination.

Truly, there would be reason to go mad if it were not for music,’ said the Russian pianist and composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky.18

In the nineteenth century, cholera struck the most modern, prosperous cities in the world, killing rich and poor alike, from Paris and London to New York City and New Orleans. In 1836, it felled King Charles X in Italy; in 1849, President James Polk in New Orleans; in 1893, the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg.

NONE BUT THE LONELY HEART (based on a poem by J.W. von Goethe) None but the lonely heart Can know my sadness Alone and parted Far from joy and gladness Heaven's boundless arch I see Spread about above me O what a distance dear to one Who loves me None but the lonely heart Can know my sadness Alone and parted Far from joy and gladness Alone and parted far From joy and gladness My senses fail A burning fire Devours me None but the lonely heart Can know my sadness

The most important author of this book is, in fact, God himself, whose words, spoken for the healing of my own soul, I have rendered. And it is precisely these truths, which the Divinity has shared with me, that are the main reason why I felt an almost sacred duty to pass this book on.