Happy Birthday, Mozart!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born 254 years ago, on January, 26, 1756. Two-and-a-half centuries is a long time to hold the esteem of pretty much the entire human race - yet Mozart and his work have done exactly that. How? With supremely inventive composition, yes. But also with a certain spiritual buoyancy - dare we say “joy”? - that comes through the composition, even in Mozart’s more supposedly somber works. This is genius in service to something greater!

How better to celebrate the birthday of this towering composer than to immerse ourselves in some of his 600 works? Below, a selection of Mozartiana, for your enjoyment.

“Succeeding generations have reconsidered Mozart in stages, the way most listeners discover him. First we hear the divine child with his uncanny knack for divinely beautiful melodies; then the impossibly sophisticated technician, who made complexity sound simple and pushed symphonic, chamber and operatic forms to new levels; then the profound, sublime Mozart of the late operas, late symphonies and the requiem, whose music lays bare the human soul. In 1791, the last year of his life, the 35-year-old Mozart sustained a level of inspiration perhaps without parallel in cultural history, and he showed no signs of slowing down. What if he had lived another 35 years?”

- Michael Clive, from our feature “Everything Mozart on Classical TV”

CONCERTS AND RECITALS SELECTED FROM THE CLASSICAL TV VAULT

• Mozart:  Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra and clarinetist Eddie Daniels   FREE

• Mozart:  String Quintet In D major,  K. 593, with the Chilingarian String Quartet and Nobuko lmai; also Haydn: String Quartet In B-flat minor, Op. 71 No. 1; and Beethoven: String Quintet in C major, Op. 29 with Nobuko lmai   FREE

• “Mostly Mozart” - recital by legendary pianist Friedrich Gulda, including the Fantasia in D minor, K. 397; Fantasia in C minor, K. 475; and Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor,  K. 457   FREE

• "Mozart Matinee"-- From the famous Salzburg conservatoire, the Mozarteum, Stein conducts the Dresden Staatskapelle in an all-Mozart program with soloists Kurt Nikkanen, violin, and Ruth Ziesak, soprano. This live concert recording features the Symphony No. 20 in D major, K. 133, Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216; two concert arias for solo voice and orchestra, "Bella mia fiamma" K. 528 and "Vado, ma dove" K. 583; and Symphony No. 36 in C major ("Linz") K. 425.   FREE

• Mozart: Sonata for Piano Four-Hands in C major, K. 19d (composed when Mozart was 9!), with Martha Argerich and Nicolas Economou   FREE

• Mozart: Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 and Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457, with Friedrich Gulda and jazz organist Barbara Dennerlein    FREE

FROM THE ACCLAIMED “NOT MOZART” TV SERIES

The series was first presented in 1991, when six filmmakers and six composers were commissioned to do a thirty-minute homage to Mozart, to honor the bicentenary anniversary of his death. 

• “Bring Me the Head of Amadeus” - The inimitable Austrian composer H. K. Gruber teams up with award-winning director Barrie Gavin to create a subversive, slapstick adventure, which romps through Vienna.  FREE

• “Letters, Riddles, and Writs” - Michael Nyman, Jeremy Newson and electronic effects Pat Gavin explore the oppressive relationship between Mozart and his father, using compelling reworkings of Mozart.  FREE

• “N-t M-zart” - The composer Mathias Ruegg, six male members of the Vienna Art Orchestra, six female jazz artists, and Ernst Grandits explore the fundamental role of the well-known Austrian confection, the Mozartkug.  FREE

• “Wam Ltd.” - Dutch improviser Mischa Mengelberg and award-winning British director Anthony Garner have devised a disturbing and enigmatic tale, based around a troubled computer tycoon called Mozart.  FREE

• "Scipio's Dream"-- Judith Weir's innate rebelliousness and sense of fun are brought to the screen by director Margaret Williams in an extravagant updating of Mozart's youthful opera Il sogno di Scipione.   FREE

• "M Is for Man, Music, Mozart"-- Eminent Dutch composer Louis Andriessen and director Peter Greenaway collaborate on a conceit on the letter "M," set in a grisly sixteenth-century anatomy theater.   FREE

OPERA

• The Magic Flute - the acclaimed Metropolitan Opera production, directed by Julie Taymor   -- $4.99 for 72 hours

• Cosi Fan Tutti - the Zurich Opera production, starring Cecelia Bartoli   -- $1.99 for 99 hours