Yesterday was the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth, and probably only a month or two from now will be the 250th anniversary of when he started composing.Mozart was not, as most people think of him, simply a composer of light, fluffy minuets and coldly perfect serenades that provide accompaniment for little girls to scatter flowers and drink tea. He tackled a range of issues which landed him in hot water with the censors, from the rising tension between the social classes (The Marriage of Figaro) to the abuses of the nobility and sexual liberation (Don Giovanni) to Freemasonry (The Magic Flute).
His music can be tender, sweet, harrowing, life-affirming, and even - especially in his unfinished Requiem and in the finale of Don Giovanni - tempestuous and fiery. The amazing thing is not only that he managed to write such amazing music, but that he never wrote anything bad which wasn't meant as a joke. Genuis, as we think of it, isn't supposed to be like that. It's something unpredictable, which burns brightly one minute and is gone the next. Yet Mozart kept the light shining his whole life.
So happy birthday, Mozart you genuis.
1 comment:
Loyal, are you a fan of the film "Amadeus"? I saw it last semester for the first time, and I thought it was phenomenal. The score (all Mozart compositions) is perfect.
I remember my days as a kid thinking classical music was boring. It's a good thing our tastes grow up!
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