--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven…" description: "\"You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!\" — Michael Tilson Thomas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png" --- # You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite… ![“You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!” quote by Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png) > “You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!” [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music is defined by its greatest masters; lesser works are judged by their standards. **In simple terms:** Great composers set the benchmark for music. Key Takeaway Recognize and study the masters. Themes music excellence benchmark Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational analytical When to use this quote - music education - listening habits - concert programming Key Concepts artistic standards cultural canon Questions to Reflect On - Do you limit your listening to famous composers? - How does exposure to diverse music affect your taste? A Different Perspective Personal taste varies beyond canonical works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Composers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composers/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mozart/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [When you hear Bach or Mozart, you hear perfection. Remember that Bach, Mozart and Beethoven were great improvisers. I can hear that in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/when-you-hear-bach-or-mozart-you-hear-perfection-remember-that-bach/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My favorite composers are the ones that tell the story. I love Wagner. I love Mahler. Prokofiev. The programmatic music. I listen more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-lupone/my-favorite-composers-are-the-ones-that-tell-the-story-i-love-wagner/) [Patti LuPone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-lupone/) > [Tom Kitt aside - he's in his own category with me, of course - Stephen Sondheim is one of my all-time favorite composers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/tom-kitt-aside-he-s-in-his-own-category-with-me-of-course-stephen/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) > [For years, my favorite composers had been Monteverdi and Bach. Then I began to rediscover the 19th century, see it from another perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-penderecki/for-years-my-favorite-composers-had-been-monteverdi-and-bach-then-i/) [Krzysztof Penderecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-penderecki/) > [What gives Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-saint-saens/what-gives-bach-and-mozart-a-place-apart-is-that-these-two-great/) [Camille Saint-Saens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-saint-saens/) > [I listen only to Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. Life is too short to waste on other composers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/i-listen-only-to-bach-beethoven-or-mozart-life-is-too-short-to-waste/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [Before I was 5, I did have a lot of time on my hands. I had no job and really no career, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/before-i-was-5-i-did-have-a-lot-of-time-on-my-hands-i-had-no-job-and/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Composers most identified with the chamber music form are Corelli, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and, of course, Bach. Of course, Bach. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/composers-most-identified-with-the-chamber-music-form-are-corelli/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) > [Fortunately, I started very young, so I read music very well. And my favorite composers to play are Brahms and Mozart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/fortunately-i-started-very-young-so-i-read-music-very-well-and-my/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [If somebody says, 'Well, what are your favorite composers?' really, what they are saying is, 'What are your favorite composers apart from Bach?' Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-richter/if-somebody-says-well-what-are-your-favorite-composers-really-what/) [Max Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-richter/) > [But still as compared to many, many orchestras in the world, I think you find a lot more new music and living composers on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/but-still-as-compared-to-many-many-orchestras-in-the-world-i-think/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [I always loved the motion picture scores and the great film composers like Elmer Bernstein.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra-jr/i-always-loved-the-motion-picture-scores-and-the-great-film-composers/) [Frank Sinatra Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra-jr/) > [Not many composers have ideas. Far more of them know how to use strange instruments which do not require ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gershwin/not-many-composers-have-ideas-far-more-of-them-know-how-to-use/) [George Gershwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gershwin/) > [Nobody can give a good performance unless the authors and composers have written a good part, a fact which is often overlooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-holliday/nobody-can-give-a-good-performance-unless-the-authors-and-composers/) [Judy Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-holliday/) > [There are no black film composers doing the likes of Star Wars, doing the likes of E.T., doing the likes of Jurassic Park. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-j-johnson/there-are-no-black-film-composers-doing-the-likes-of-star-wars-doing/) [J. J. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-j-johnson/) ## More by Michael Tilson Thomas > [If we are able to get inside the music and inhabit it convincingly enough, it will cause everyone to find each other in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/if-we-are-able-to-get-inside-the-music-and-inhabit-it-convincingly/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [Being a conductor is kind of a hybrid profession because most fundamentally, it is being someone who is a coach, a trainer, an editor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/being-a-conductor-is-kind-of-a-hybrid-profession-because-most/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [You know, they were returning to the language of the people and trying to use musical language, particularly as Copland did to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/you-know-they-were-returning-to-the-language-of-the-people-and-trying/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [The first year I started in San Francisco, there was an American work on every program and there's been a lot of music by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/the-first-year-i-started-in-san-francisco-there-was-an-american-work/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [Conductors are performers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/conductors-are-performers/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [The world changes when there's music in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/the-world-changes-when-there-s-music-in-it/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [But those musics do not address the larger kind of architecture in time that classical music does, whatever each one of us knows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/but-those-musics-do-not-address-the-larger-kind-of-architecture-in/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [ If you're curious, if you have a capacity for wonder, if you're alive, you know all that you need to know \[about music\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/if-you-re-curious-if-you-have-a-capacity-for-wonder-if-you-re-alive/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [Classical music is a wonderful 1200 year-old tradition that witnesses everything that it has meant and what it means right now to be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/classical-music-is-a-wonderful-1200-year-old-tradition-that-witnesses/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [But a large symphony orchestra basically is a repertory company and it has a very enormous repertoire and it is important for the performers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/but-a-large-symphony-orchestra-basically-is-a-repertory-company-and/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [Being an American musician means being adventurous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/being-an-american-musician-means-being-adventurous/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [I can't do pieces I only admire technically. I have to feel some direct contact with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/i-can-t-do-pieces-i-only-admire-technically-i-have-to-feel-some/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [But without the experience of actually singing or playing these things yourself, you don't have the same kind of involvement or understanding of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/but-without-the-experience-of-actually-singing-or-playing-these/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [This extraordinary group has absolutely captivated my imagination, knocked my socks off - what more can I say?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/this-extraordinary-group-has-absolutely-captivated-my-imagination/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) > [But some people will say you just did these programs. Well, yes, the programs are important and I'm proud of the programs, but mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/but-some-people-will-say-you-just-did-these-programs-well-yes-the/) [Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) [Explore all 43 Michael Tilson Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/) ## More Composer quotes > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) Michael Brecker > [“- Mom, can I tell them there that I'm Romanian? - Sure, why not tell them? - I was thinking that they wouldn't think...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-enescu/mom-can-i-tell-them-there-that-i-m-romanian-sure-why-not-tell-them-i/) George Enescu > [The number of e-mails and letters that I get from choreographers, from sculptors, from composers who are being inspired by science is huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-number-of-e-mails-and-letters-that-i-get-from-choreographers-from/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [The architect is very interesting because the architect is the commander, meaning the one who commands all the workers. The architect is also the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-architect-is-very-interesting-because-the-architect-is-the/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [If a composer could state in words what being a composer means, he would no longer need to be a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-rorem/if-a-composer-could-state-in-words-what-being-a-composer-means-he/) [Ned Rorem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-rorem/) > [Seen from the point of view of the composer, the most nonsensical practice is that of casting people in musicals who are unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-gold/seen-from-the-point-of-view-of-the-composer-the-most-nonsensical/) Ernest Gold > [I think there's just been this "thing" that's developed, this way that we have of talking about our music that alienates people. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-mazzoli/i-think-there-s-just-been-this-thing-that-s-developed-this-way-that/) [Missy Mazzoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-mazzoli/) > [The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/signe-baumane/the-ability-to-understand-and-deliver-comedy-and-tragedy-is-extremely/) [Signe Baumane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/signe-baumane/) > [When synthesizers appeared everyone was a composer suddenly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/when-synthesizers-appeared-everyone-was-a-composer-suddenly/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [A mission that comes from the heart to promote these things and to encourage composers to write, then of course they should do it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-hamelin/a-mission-that-comes-from-the-heart-to-promote-these-things-and-to/) [Marc-Andre Hamelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-hamelin/) > [The beauty and genius of a work of art may be reconceived, though its first material expression be destroyed; a vanished harmony may yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beebe/the-beauty-and-genius-of-a-work-of-art-may-be-reconceived-though-its/) [William Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beebe/) > [Every time I see a film or TV show, I think about how that composer made those choices and how that director envisioned music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lopez/every-time-i-see-a-film-or-tv-show-i-think-about-how-that-composer/) [Robert Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lopez/) > [Like any other composer of opera, I choose a subject not for polemical reasons, but because it contains vivid characters in highly charged dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/like-any-other-composer-of-opera-i-choose-a-subject-not-for-polemical/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) [Browse all 885 Composer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Tilson Thomas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven-as-your-favorite-composers/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Composer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven-as-your-favorite-composers/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f8/michael-tilson-thomas-15268_composer_you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven_873795.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't have Bach, Mozart and Beethoven as your favorite composers. They simply define what music is!” — Michael Tilson Thomas", "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": "Michael Tilson Thomas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't have Bach, Mozart and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven-as-your-favorite-composers/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/you-can-t-have-bach-mozart-and-beethoven-as-your-favorite-composers/#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 } } ] } ```