"Off with you! You're a happy fellow, for you'll give happiness and joy to many other people. There is nothing better or greater than that!"
— Ludwig van Beethoven
Off With You Youre A Happy
Off with you! You're a happy fellow, for you'll give happiness and joy to many other people. There is nothing better or greater than that!
About this quote
This remark is reported in biographical accounts from around 1820, when Beethoven was entirely deaf and communicating through conversation books. No autograph source survives for this exact wording. It is consistent with Beethoven's known view that music's highest purpose was to bring joy to others — a sentiment he expressed in letters — but the specific anecdote derives from secondary biographical accounts compiled after his death.
Source
Reported remark to a young musician, c. 1820
