Jean Sibelius Quotations

Pay no attention to what the critics say; there has never been set up a statue in honor of a critic.

Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been put up to a critic.

Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.

No one ever erected a statue of a critic.

It is so difficult to mix with artists! You must choose business men to talk to, because artists only talk of money.

For an instant God opens his door and His orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony,

No statue has ever been put up to a critic.

For me, music begins where words end.

The framework of a symphony must be so strong that it forces you to follow it, regardless of the environment and circumstances.

Millions of years ago, in my previous incarnations, I must have been related to swans... because I can still feel that affinity.

All the doctors who wanted to forbid me to smoke and to drink are dead,

Whereas most other modern composers are engaged in manufacturing cocktails of every hue and description, I offer the public pure cold water.

If we understood the world, we would realize that there is a logic of harmony underlying its manifold apparent dissonances.

Musicians talk of nothing but money and jobs. Give me businessmen every time. They really are interested in music and art

Music is on a higher plane than everything else in this world.

Music is, for me, like a beautiful mosaic which God has put together. He takes all the pieces in his hand, throws them into the world, and we have to recreate the picture from the pieces.

I often conduct an orchestra in my sleep; my orchestras are so huge that the back desks of the violas vanish into the horizon. And everything is so wonderful.

If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price. Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.

Music begins where the possibilities of language end.

If I could express the same thing with words as with music, I would, of course, use a verbal expression. Music is something autonomous and much richer. Music begins where the possibilities of language end. That is why I write music.

Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic.