“Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpointists to hack post-horses; therefore be advised, let well alone and remember the old Italian proverb: Chi sa più, meno sa—Who knows most, knows least.”

— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

As spoken to Michael Kelly, from Reminiscences of Michael Kelly, of the King's Theatre, and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, including a period of nearly half a century; with Original Anecdotes of many distinguished Personnages, Political, Literary, and Musical (London, Henry Colburn, 1826; digitized 2006), 2nd ed., vol. I (p. 225) http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC00439352&id=ph3XEMzGt5YC&pg=RA2-PA225&lpg=RA2-PA225&dq=%22Melody+is+the+essence+of+music%22&hl=en

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update April 6, 2024. History

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Do you have more details about the quote "Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpointists to hack post-horses; th…" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 26

Austrian Romantic composer 1756–1791

Edie Sedgwick (1943–1971) Socialite, actress, model

In Santa Barbara, unable to talk or walk properly, suffering from permanent brain damage after being taken out of Manhattan State Hospital
Edie : American Girl (1982)

“Pouter, tumbler and fantail are from the same source;
The racer and hack may be traced to one horse;
So men were developed from monkeys of course,
Which nobody can deny.”

Charles Neaves (1800–1876) Scottish theologian, jurist and writer

Originally published in The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1872).

“It seems to me I've heard that song before.
It's from an old familiar score.
I know it well, that melody.”

Sammy Cahn (1913–1993) American lyricist, songwriter, musician

I've Heard that Song Before (1942)
Song lyrics

“You know that old phrase ‘Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it’? Well, I think those who remember the past are even worse off.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Choke

Source: Choke

“As we stand together with our Irish friends, I'm reminded of that proverb – and this is a good one, this is one I like, I've heard it for many many years and I love it – "Always remember to forget the friends that proved untrue, but never forget to remember those that have stuck by you." We know that, politically speaking, a lot of us know that, we know it well, it's a great phrase.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

Trump speaking during a visit of Enda Kenny, the then Irish head of government https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/17/trumps-irish-proverb-causes-derision-on-the-web (17 March 2017)
2010s, 2017, March

“"I Know. I Know! Let's Go Potholing! In Croatia!" "Fine. I know a guy who can give us a lift… Me!"”

Dylan Moran (1971) Irish actor and comedian

Monster (2004)

“The punters know that the horse named Morality rarely gets past the post, whereas the nag named Self-interest always runs a good race.”

Gough Whitlam (1916–2014) Australian politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia

Written by Gough Whitlam for the London Daily Telegraph, (19 October 1989). (Andrews, 1993, p. 824)

“I wish that every young man when he begins to write music would not concern himself with being a melodist, a harmonist, a realist, an idealist or a futurist or any other such devilish pedantic things. Melody and harmony should be simply tools in the hands of the artist, with which he creates music; and if a day comes when people stop talking about the German school, the Italian school, the past, the future, etc., etc., then art will perhaps come into its own.”

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) Italian composer

Io…vorrei che il giovane quando si mette a scrivere, non pensasse mai ad essere né melodista, né realista, né idealista, né avvenirista, né tutti i diavoli che si portino queste pedanterie. La melodia e l’armonia non devono essere che mezzi nella mano dell'artista per fare della Musica, e se verrà un giorno in cui non si parlerà più né di melodia né di armonia né di scuole tedesche, italiane, né di passato né di avvenire ecc. ecc. ecc. allora forse comincierà il regno dell'arte.
Letter to Opprandino Arrivabene, July 14, 1875, cited from Julian Budden Le opere di Verdi (Torino: E.D.T., 1986) vol. 2, p. 60; translation from Josiah Fisk and Jeff Nichols (eds.) Composers on Music (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997) p. 126

“Anyway… she knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a horse who knows a goat who knows another horse”

Rick Riordan book The Blood of Olympus

Source: The Blood of Olympus

“A French Author has found out that the French music is for the heart; Italian music, for the ear only: but I do not know how it is to get at the one but by means of the other, and I fancy that which does not please the ear, will never find its way to the heart. I think it is Confucius who says, that the state of music is a proof of the good or bad customs of a country. The French nation would lose by such a judgment and the Italian gain more than it deserves.”

Peter Beckford (1643–1710) Governor of Jamaica

“Melody is the essence of music. I compare a good melodist to a fine racer, and counterpointists to hack post-horses; therefore be advised, let well alone and remember the old Italian proverb: Chi sa più, meno sa—Who knows most, knows least.”

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 26

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