--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write music, it’s performed. After all…" description: "\"I write music, it’s performed. After all, my music says it all. It doesn’t need historical and hysterical commentaries. In the long run, any words abou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_commentary_i-write-music-it-s-performed-after-all-m_1835778.jpg" --- # I write music, it’s performed. After all, my music says it… ![“I write music, it’s performed. After all, my music says it all. It doesn’t need historical and hysterical commentaries. In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music.” quote by Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_commentary_i-write-music-it-s-performed-after-all-m_1835778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_commentary_i-write-music-it-s-performed-after-all-m_1835778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/dmitri-shostakovich-19403_commentary_i-write-music-it-s-performed-after-all-m_1835778.jpg) > “I write music, it’s performed. After all, my music says it all. It doesn’t need historical and hysterical commentaries. In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music.” [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music expresses itself without needing explanatory commentary; the work stands alone as its own justification. **In simple terms:** Music speaks for itself; words are secondary. Key Takeaway Let the music be the message. Themes art expression authenticity Mood reflective confident Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - concert performance - recording - teaching music - personal listening Key Concepts self‑referential art aesthetic autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does silence shape your listening experience? - Can music convey ideas that words cannot? A Different Perspective Listeners may still seek context, which can enrich appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Long runs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-runs/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In the long run, any words about music are less important than the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/in-the-long-run-any-words-about-music-are-less-important-than-the/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [Words performed through music can express what language alone had exhausted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-von-hofmannsthal/words-performed-through-music-can-express-what-language-alone-had/) [Hugo von Hofmannsthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-von-hofmannsthal/) > [“You—you’re what’s important. Music will never be more important than you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-snow/you-you-re-what-s-important-music-will-never-be-more-important-than/) [Emily Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-snow/) > [If I am against the condition of the world it is not because I am a moralist, it is because I want to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-i-am-against-the-condition-of-the-world-it-is-not-because-i-am-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Who says I breathe music? Who says I even breathe?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/who-says-i-breathe-music-who-says-i-even-breathe/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Music for a long time has been telling what the world is like. 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Really specific but those are also real tonal things as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wood/music-says-so-much-really-specific-but-those-are-also-real-tonal/) [Elijah Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wood/) > [Music says nothing to the reason: it is a kind of closely structured nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/music-says-nothing-to-the-reason-it-is-a-kind-of-closely-structured/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Music says the things that people don't say or are afraid to say, and that's the best part about it for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-skye/music-says-the-things-that-people-don-t-say-or-are-afraid-to-say-and/) [Justine Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-skye/) > [“What good is music? None, Gage thought, and that is the point. To the world and its states and armies and factories and leaders,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/what-good-is-music-none-gage-thought-and-that-is-the-point-to-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More by Dmitri Shostakovich > [When a man is in despair, it means that he still believes in something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/when-a-man-is-in-despair-it-means-that-he-still-believes-in-something/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [It's about the people, who have stopped believing because the cup of evil has run over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/it-s-about-the-people-who-have-stopped-believing-because-the-cup-of/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I don't know what will become of this piece. Our brave critics will no doubt charge me with imitating Ravel's Bolero. 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Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-d-crisp/) > [My work is not so much a direct commentary as it is an open-ended observation of the absurdities around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-gersht/my-work-is-not-so-much-a-direct-commentary-as-it-is-an-open-ended/) [Ori Gersht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-gersht/) > [“The late-afternoon light was thick and orange and she passed four different couples taking photos of themselves on the same cobblestoned block, all their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/the-late-afternoon-light-was-thick-and-orange-and-she-passed-four/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [I'm not interested in the director's commentary stuff. I think that stuff is really boring. And, if the director explains too much, it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-m-kahn/i-m-not-interested-in-the-director-s-commentary-stuff-i-think-that/) [Joseph M. Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-m-kahn/) > [“Every time I check Facebook, I get sick of my friends' pointless dramatic posts!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malak-abu-shanab/every-time-i-check-facebook-i-get-sick-of-my-friends-pointless/) Malak Abu Shanab > [It's a sad commentary when I have to say that sometimes in our country we are real sensitive to race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-robertson/it-s-a-sad-commentary-when-i-have-to-say-that-sometimes-in-our/) [Oscar Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-robertson/) > [“For the commentator to stay as closely as possible to home, that is, to the text of the Gospel itself, there is much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-ridderbos/for-the-commentator-to-stay-as-closely-as-possible-to-home-that-is-to/) Herman Ridderbos > [If I do, I say so. That's the only way out of that. 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