They want me to give another concert but I have no desire to do so. You cannot imagine what a torture the three days before a public appearance are to me.
Frederic ChopinI really don't know whether any place contains more pianists than Paris, or whether you can find more asses and virtuosos anywhere.
Frederic ChopinMan is never always happy, and very often only a brief period of happiness is granted him in this world; so why escape from this dream which cannot last long?
Frederic ChopinAll the same it is being said everywhere that I played too softly, or rather, too delicately for people used to the piano-pounding of the artists here.
Frederic ChopinAmong the numerous pleasures of Vienna the hotel evenings are famous. During supper Strauss or Lanner play waltzes...After every waltz they get huge applause; and if they play a Quodlibet, or jumble of opera, song and dance, the hearers are so overjoyed that they don't know what to do with themselves. It shows the corrupt taste of the Viennese public.
Frederic Chopin