---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mozart wrote so many works in his…"
description: "\"Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that it would take a lifetime just to write out the notes. We literally do not know how he did it.\"..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png"
---

#  Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that…

![“Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that it would take a lifetime just to write out the notes. We literally do not know how he did it.” quote by Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png)

> “Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that it would take a lifetime just to write out the notes. We literally do not know how he did it.”

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Mozart's prolific output was so massive that fully transcribing it would take a lifetime, highlighting his extraordinary productivity and mystery of his creative process.

**In simple terms:** Mozart wrote so much that copying it all would take forever.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that exceptional talent can seem impossible to fully grasp.

Themes

creativity productivity genius

Mood

awe curiosity

Type

historical inspirational

When to use this quote

- music education
- archival research
- performance preparation
- inspiration for composers

Key Concepts

musical composition historical mystery

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we honor prolific creators whose methods are unknown?
- What can we learn from studying their output?

A Different Perspective

Even with modern tools, fully capturing his work remains daunting.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Lifetime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifetime/) [Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mozart/) [Mozart Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mozart-wrote-254638/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Notes Literally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes-literally-802265/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-works-802264/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [People forget that Mozart wrote for commissions. There's a thing in psychology where they think if it's popular, it can't be serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/people-forget-that-mozart-wrote-for-commissions-there-s-a-thing-in/)

[Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/)

> [People have an affinity towards things, and you don't know where it comes from. Mozart wrote a symphony when he was four, so it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/people-have-an-affinity-towards-things-and-you-don-t-know-where-it/)

[William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/)

> [Mozart often wrote to his family that certain variations or sections of pieces were so successful that they had to be encored immediately, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-ax/mozart-often-wrote-to-his-family-that-certain-variations-or-sections/)

[Emanuel Ax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-ax/)

> [I wrote 'Threnody,' then I wrote several works where I changed my music completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/i-wrote-threnody-then-i-wrote-several-works-where-i-changed-my-music/)

[Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/)

> [“As the lives of their characters develop, they end up on paths that writers could not possibly have foreseen—and hence give the impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-r-sunstein/as-the-lives-of-their-characters-develop-they-end-up-on-paths-that/)

[Cass R. Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-r-sunstein/)

> [“Choreographer Twyla Tharp, who directed the opera and dance scenes for the film Amadeus, has this to say about the film’s portrait of Mozart:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcguinness/choreographer-twyla-tharp-who-directed-the-opera-and-dance-scenes-for/)

[Mark McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcguinness/)

> [I have been told that a young would-be composer wrote to Mozart asking advice about how to compose a symphony. Mozart responded that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-have-been-told-that-a-young-would-be-composer-wrote-to-mozart/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [Shakespeare wrote his sonnets within a strict discipline, fourteen lines of iambic pentameter, rhyming in three quatrains and a couplet. Were his sonnets dull?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/shakespeare-wrote-his-sonnets-within-a-strict-discipline-fourteen/)

[David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/)

> [Everybody is different. Some writers can write reams of great books and then J. D. Salinger wrote just a few. Beethoven wrote nine symphonies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/everybody-is-different-some-writers-can-write-reams-of-great-books/)

[Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/)

> [To understand Mozart's contradictory qualities would indeed be to understand genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/to-understand-mozart-s-contradictory-qualities-would-indeed-be-to/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [To me, Mozart is our Shakespeare, the one who wrote the most dramatic, psychologically most baffling music. He combined ideas that no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/to-me-mozart-is-our-shakespeare-the-one-who-wrote-the-most-dramatic/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Anybody can put things together that belong together. to put things together that don't go together, and make it work, that takes genius like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/anybody-can-put-things-together-that-belong-together-to-put-things/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/)

[Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/)

> [I'm very fond of classical music, especially Mozart. I find it relaxes me and helps me concentrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guler-sabanci/i-m-very-fond-of-classical-music-especially-mozart-i-find-it-relaxes/)

[Guler Sabanci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guler-sabanci/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

## More by Lukas Foss

> [It is the element I miss in electronic music - no performance, no loving immersion. Maybe that is why I was never particularly drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/it-is-the-element-i-miss-in-electronic-music-no-performance-no-loving/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [That is why the analogy of stealing does not work. With a thief, we want to know how much money he or she stole,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/that-is-why-the-analogy-of-stealing-does-not-work-with-a-thief-we/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Since age seven, I've been composing and have never stopped composing, yet, the creative process is as elusive to me as it has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/since-age-seven-i-ve-been-composing-and-have-never-stopped-composing/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [In the nineteenth century the more grandiose word inspiration began to replace the word idea in the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/in-the-nineteenth-century-the-more-grandiose-word-inspiration-began/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [If one uses music that one does not really love, then one will not succeed in making it one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/if-one-uses-music-that-one-does-not-really-love-then-one-will-not/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [I still do not know where the notes will come from when I accept a commission for a new work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/i-still-do-not-know-where-the-notes-will-come-from-when-i-accept-a/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/yes-influences-are-enriching-and-they-can-be-found-in-every-work-of/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Boulez's only concern is with power. He lost the leadership of the avant-guard more than ten years ago to Stockhausen. Now others have moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/boulez-s-only-concern-is-with-power-he-lost-the-leadership-of-the/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [My students frequently ask what their next project should be. My advice: immerse yourself in the music you love and you will find what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/my-students-frequently-ask-what-their-next-project-should-be-my/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [As I sit down and start to work, I often panic. I stare at the empty piece of music paper. How can I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/as-i-sit-down-and-start-to-work-i-often-panic-i-stare-at-the-empty/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [To understand Mozart's contradictory qualities would indeed be to understand genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/to-understand-mozart-s-contradictory-qualities-would-indeed-be-to/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [To come to grips with creativity, I must ask creative, adventurous questions - the kind which, in all likelihood, cannot be answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/to-come-to-grips-with-creativity-i-must-ask-creative-adventurous/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Composing is like making love to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/composing-is-like-making-love-to-the-future/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [Most people think an artist tries to be original, but originality is the last thing that develops in the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/most-people-think-an-artist-tries-to-be-original-but-originality-is/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

> [I don't dare postulate about science, but I know that it takes both emotion and intellect in order for art to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/i-don-t-dare-postulate-about-science-but-i-know-that-it-takes-both/)

[Lukas Foss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

[Explore all 34 Lukas Foss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/)

## More Five years quotes

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

[Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/)

> [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/)

[Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/)

> [“His Army Ranger unit had always been ready for an ambush. Five years in special ops had made him suspicious of most. On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/)

[Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/)

> [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/)

[Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/)

> [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/)

[Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/)

> [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/)

[Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/)

> [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [“most professionals progress until they reach an “acceptable” level, and then they plateau. Software engineers, for instance, usually stop progressing somewhere around five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-grenny/most-professionals-progress-until-they-reach-an-acceptable-level-and/)

[Joseph Grenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-grenny/)

> [In five years of my previous tenure, the treasury was never shut for one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarinder-singh/in-five-years-of-my-previous-tenure-the-treasury-was-never-shut-for/)

[Amarinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarinder-singh/)

> [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/)

[David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/)

> [I'm an immigrant, a legal immigrant to the United States. I only became a citizen five years ago. Every day, for seven months, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-gorka/i-m-an-immigrant-a-legal-immigrant-to-the-united-states-i-only-became/)

[Sebastian Gorka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-gorka/)

> [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Wrestling introduced me to the idea that my body has a purpose besides trying to look five years younger for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-gilpin/wrestling-introduced-me-to-the-idea-that-my-body-has-a-purpose/)

[Betty Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-gilpin/)

> [“I have entered the New Yorker's Cartoon Caption Contest almost weekly virtually since it began and have never even been a finalist. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mankoff/i-have-entered-the-new-yorker-s-cartoon-caption-contest-almost-weekly/)

[Bob Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mankoff/)

[Browse all 2,724 Five years quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that it would take a lifetime just to write out the notes. We literally do not know how he did it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lukas Foss"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty-five-years-that-it-would/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Five years"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty-five-years-that-it-would/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/lukas-foss-18490_five-years_mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty_2474992.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Mozart wrote so many works in his thirty-five years that it would take a lifetime just to write out the…” — Lukas Foss",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Lukas Foss",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukas-foss/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Mozart wrote so many works in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty-five-years-that-it-would/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukas-foss/mozart-wrote-so-many-works-in-his-thirty-five-years-that-it-would/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
