Beethoven vs Rossini: should music suffer or sparkle?

Music must seize the heavens by the throat and drag the listener through fire toward the sublime.

My friend, the public wants melody, laughter, and a good dinner afterward - I gave them all three and retired rich.

You compose comedies in a fortnight while I bled over a single symphony for years; ease is not greatness.

And yet the whole world hums my tunes while yours make them weep - perhaps joy travels farther than thunder.