Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on this date in 1756.
It’s difficult to name a greater cultural giant in the entire history of Western Civilization.
Sadly underappreciated in his time, Mozart died in December, 1791 – not even surviving to reach his 36th birthday.
Got a favorite Mozart memory?
More below the fold.
Back in mid-November 2001, I happened to be in Vienna for a few days – and had the good fortune to be able to attend a performance of the “Requiem” in the main cathedral in the center of Vienna, St. Stephen’s. It was unusually cold for mid-November, and inside the cathedral it was cold that night – I kept my jacket on throughout the performance. But the stark stone of the old building and the coldness of the air provided the perfect setting – and it was just a few weeks after 9/11. When the final crushing bars roared from the orchestra and chorus and then ceased, they echoed around the cathedral for several seconds. Everyone sat frozen in silence, listening to the echo slowly fading away. Only when all had finally become still did applause slowly and polite begin….
Feel free to add your own Mozart memories in the comments….
Steve Maley
KnightsofMalta
Dan Spencer
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Well I had to let my daughter know
bk (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 10:15AM EST (link)She was an all-state HS clarinet player and her favorite piece that she used for college auditions was Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet (K. 622).
It was
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 10:19AM EST (link)It was great when he was composing, but now he is just decomposing.
Seriously, tho, happy birthday Mozart. You have given the world some great music.
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Keep these kinds of posts coming, Skanderberg
icbm (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 10:29AM EST (link)Perhaps you can appoint yourself the Arts Editor and do these at least once a week. It’s a wonderful reprieve from politics.
RS Arts Editor?
Skanderbeg (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 11:07AM EST (link)Thanks – but there’s at least one person on the Contributors list who is much more qualified….
Anyway, thanks for the kind words. One reason I like to keep track of things like this is as a reminder that we’re working on more than just the day-to-day political wrangling – or at least should be. There’s a whole culture to preserve, protect, appreciate, and defend – from both external threats (like islamo-nihilism) and internal amnesia/ennui….
Blackhedd is busy educating us all about financial
icbm (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 4:55PM EST (link)matters right now. I’m sure he wouldn’t take offense if you became RS Arts Editor. He could be Senior Arts Editor and chime in whenever he wanted.
With your second paragraph, I couldn’t agree more, and it’s good to read someone else’s words expressing that sentiment!
(Seriously, a weekly post on the arts would be great. Think about it. I’ll write one for you now and then, if that would help, as would several others here, I’m sure.)
I think he meant someone else, but she's
Brian Hibbert (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 5:09PM EST (link)pretty busy helping out Rummy these days.
Candidate for Trustee of Illinois Central College
Socialism doesn’t work. It looks nice on paper, but it’s been tried and it’s failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Take back our party!
Check out Unified Patriots
Oh, gotcha.
icbm (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 11:28PM EST (link)Well, I guess I’m in the dark, then. I’ll probably figure it out eventually…
Mozart knowledge
devCharles Tuesday, January 27th at 10:42AM EST (link)totally got me dates when I was in junior orchestra in high school. Cheers to that man.
“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” – Ronald Regan
"It is a sobering thought, for example, that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years." -- Tom Lehrer
Finrod (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 11:12AM EST (link)Personally, it’s my view that if there is no music older than you that you like, then your musical tastes are way too limited This goes for both Mr. Mozart and Mr. Lehrer.
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?
Id take 1 Machauts over 100 Mozarts - Napoleon
Alberta (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 11:43AM EST (link)I believe thats the quote, at least. Aw, the French.
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
good heads up 'beg - my favorite classical composer - nt
Mike gamecock DeVine (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 12:13PM EST (link)Mike DeVine’s Examiner.com, Charlotte Observer and The Minority Report columns
“One man with courage makes a majority.” – Andrew Jackson
My favorite Mozart memory
tankertodd (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 12:20PM EST (link)Was when he was at that party and he was making fun of that little tune Salieri wrote for him. He made that funny face at the harpsichord and then passed gas. That was great.
Oh wait…that wasn’t what you were looking for.
A great place to hear Mozart is in the Old Quarter of Prague – I didn’t take advantage but the tickets were cheap. I did see Die Zauberfloete in Vienna – it was cheap if you took the steheplazte(?) tickets (standing only).
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The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race – Chief Justice Roberts
Visited his home in Vienna
Jack_Savage (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 1:01PM EST (link)…and saw his violin, harpsichord and a lock of his hair, as well as his traveling writing desk. We were fortunate enough to attend a string quartet concert there which featured Mozart’s works. Vienna is an awesome city and so full of wonderful arts and culture, and Mozart was truly a genius.
Visited his home in Vienna
Jack_Savage (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 1:01PM EST (link)…and saw his violin, harpsichord and a lock of his hair, as well as his traveling writing desk. We were fortunate enough to attend a string quartet concert there which featured Mozart’s works. Vienna is an awesome city and so full of wonderful arts and culture, and Mozart was truly a genius.
Redstate needs more cultural diversity
robmikpet (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 2:30PM EST (link)Public education taught me that Mozart is just a European white guy and his music was no better than banging on drums or hollow tubes.
Mozart Memories...
furious (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 3:47PM EST (link)Casting Genius:
“Pinto” from Animal House as Mozart, and “Principal Rooney” from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as the Emperor.
…visited Vienna/Budapest/Prague about 10 years ago with my father, and about eight years before that spent a year in Vienna on a university exchange program.
Saw Mozart’s apartment in Vienna. Went to Prague and saw the apartment in Amadeus that stood in for Mozart’s Vienna apartment.
While on the exchange program visited Salzburg and heard a Mozart Mass at the Rupertsdom, then attended die Rosenkavalier and die Zauberflote at Vienna’s Staatsoper — sttanding-room tickets for students then were the equivalent of $US5.00).
One more, and I’ll stop showing off. JP Morgan Library collection toured about seven years ago, and stopped at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Among
the documents were a concerto drafted by Mozart’s father when Mozart was still a child, and an opera drafted by Mozart himself. Thinking about a child too young to write but able to compose a concerto in his head brought tears to my eyes then. And still does.
–furious
“I find your lack of faith disturbing.” — Darth Vader
You can own the complete works of Mozart.
mbecker908 (Diary) Tuesday, January 27th at 11:33PM EST (link)170 CDs. New performances on period instruments. It can be yours for $132 plus shipping. and it gets excellent reviews. I don’t own it yet.
Sorry for the shameless ad.