---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've got that Beethoven energy, that…"
description: "\"I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.\" — Wadada Leo Smith"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg"
---

#  I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy…

![“I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.” quote by Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg)

> “I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.”

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

## About This Quote

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

He attributes his creative energy to divine inspiration, likening it to great composers.

**In simple terms:** Divine source fuels artistic energy.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and honor creative inspiration.

Themes

music spirituality creativity inspiration gratitude

Mood

reflective grateful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- composing
- improvisation
- teaching
- collaborations

Key Concepts

Divine muse artistic flow musical lineage

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance inspiration and work?
- What role does spirituality play in your art?

A Different Perspective

Attributing art to a creator may overlook effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creator/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift/)

## Related quotes

> [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/)

[Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/)

> [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/)

[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/)

[Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/)

> [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/)

[Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/)

> [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/)

[Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/)

> [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/)

[Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/)

> [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/)

Maynard Solomon

> [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/)

[Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/)

> [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/)

[Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/)

> [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/)

[Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/)

## More by Wadada Leo Smith

> [I have been in dialogue with my family about what can actually be done. We've come up with this philosophy that in a truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-have-been-in-dialogue-with-my-family-about-what-can-actually-be/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [Jazz infers a style, but creative music has a wider field and wider specification about it. We know it from people like Scott Joplin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/jazz-infers-a-style-but-creative-music-has-a-wider-field-and-wider/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [I write all the time. I always have. I can pick up my horn to warm up, and an idea will pop into my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-write-all-the-time-i-always-have-i-can-pick-up-my-horn-to-warm-up/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [The only thing that makes change possible is the idea of developing some kind of institution, because the institutions will survive individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/the-only-thing-that-makes-change-possible-is-the-idea-of-developing/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [Everything and anything is valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/everything-and-anything-is-valuable/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [My solo playing utilizes the deployment of suggestive psychic rhythms. I'll state these throughout a given piece and play thematic improvisations on top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/my-solo-playing-utilizes-the-deployment-of-suggestive-psychic-rhythms/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [I'm an optimist. I have always been, and I will continue to be. So I believe there's always a possibility of transforming or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-m-an-optimist-i-have-always-been-and-i-will-continue-to-be-so-i/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [When you live in the South, you're constantly part of the civil rights movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/when-you-live-in-the-south-you-re-constantly-part-of-the-civil-rights/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [There's nothing unnatural in creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/there-s-nothing-unnatural-in-creation/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [From now back to the past, we can observe clearly that none of us is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/from-now-back-to-the-past-we-can-observe-clearly-that-none-of-us-is/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [The artist is the consciousness of society... but musicians' role is very special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/the-artist-is-the-consciousness-of-society-but-musicians-role-is-very/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [I always felt of myself as a composer, performer, improviser. I've never called myself a jazz man. I make art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-always-felt-of-myself-as-a-composer-performer-improviser-i-ve-never/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [I think all art is, by nature, intended to motivate society for change, and the only reason change doesn't happen is because within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-think-all-art-is-by-nature-intended-to-motivate-society-for-change/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [Seeing the bigger picture opens your eyes to what is the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/seeing-the-bigger-picture-opens-your-eyes-to-what-is-the-truth/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

> [We have these old fashioned ideas. For instance, here in America, we talk about democracy - but we don't have a democracy. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/we-have-these-old-fashioned-ideas-for-instance-here-in-america-we/)

[Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

[Explore all 23 Wadada Leo Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/)

## More Beethoven quotes

> [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [I believe so, but at first he must know. He must know in which spirit Beethoven has composed this piece. He must try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-masur/i-believe-so-but-at-first-he-must-know-he-must-know-in-which-spirit/)

[Kurt Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-masur/)

> [And now, in honour of the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, I would like to play 'Clear the Saloon', er, 'Clair de Lune', by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/and-now-in-honour-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-beethoven-s-death-i/)

[Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/)

> [“That Beethoven was capable of producing the ultimate musical definition of heroism in this context is itself extraordinary, for he was able to evoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-solomon/that-beethoven-was-capable-of-producing-the-ultimate-musical/)

Maynard Solomon

> [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/)

[E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/)

> [The point of recapitulation in the first movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony unleashes one of the most horrifyingly violent episodes in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-mcclary/the-point-of-recapitulation-in-the-first-movement-of-beethoven-s/)

[Susan McClary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-mcclary/)

> [“You'll have a good, secure life when being alive means more to you than security, love more than money, your freedom more than public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-reich/you-ll-have-a-good-secure-life-when-being-alive-means-more-to-you/)

[Wilhelm Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-reich/)

> [I shall never forget Juliek. How could I forget this concert given before an audience of the dead and dying? Even today, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-shall-never-forget-juliek-how-could-i-forget-this-concert-given/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [“Did Beethoven create his symphonies for his glorification? I don't believe it. I believe he created them because the music in his soul demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/did-beethoven-create-his-symphonies-for-his-glorification-i-don-t/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

> [“On behalf of all that is good and melodic, Ludwig van Beethoven, I apologize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-strohmeyer/on-behalf-of-all-that-is-good-and-melodic-ludwig-van-beethoven-i/)

[Sarah Strohmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-strohmeyer/)

> [Beethoven can't really be great because his picture isn't on a bubble gum card.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-schulz/beethoven-can-t-really-be-great-because-his-picture-isn-t-on-a-bubble/)

[Charles M. Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-schulz/)

> [“I hope Ludwig van Beethoven gets his cut, Langdon thought, fairly certain that the original inventor of bone conduction technology was the eighteenth-century composer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-hope-ludwig-van-beethoven-gets-his-cut-langdon-thought-fairly/)

[Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/)

> [“A deaf composer's like a cook who's lost his sense of taste. A frog that's lost its webbed feet. A truck driver with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-deaf-composer-s-like-a-cook-who-s-lost-his-sense-of-taste-a-frog/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Pulse as an active means of expression, Stravinsky and Beethoven are the two masters of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esa-pekka-salonen/pulse-as-an-active-means-of-expression-stravinsky-and-beethoven-are/)

[Esa-Pekka Salonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esa-pekka-salonen/)

> [I think there are very few people that I would give the title of genius to, really, but Beethoven unquestionably is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/i-think-there-are-very-few-people-that-i-would-give-the-title-of/)

[Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/)

Browse all 240 Beethoven quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Wadada Leo Smith"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beethoven"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/wadada-leo-smith-24902_beethoven_i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stra_291633.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.” — Wadada Leo Smith",
                "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": "Wadada Leo Smith",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I've got that Beethoven energy, that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
