Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quote

The happy medium—truth in all things—is no longer either known or valued; to gain applause, one must write things so inane that they may be played on a barrel-organ, or so unintelligible that no rational being can comprehend them, though on that very account they are likely to please.

letter to his father Leopold, 28 December 1782; The Letters (tr. Lady Wallace, 1865)