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YBP Commemorates 250th Anniversary of Mozart's Birth
by Sarah Buck, Continuations Bibliographer
You cannot have a heart and not love Mozart. 2006 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, a person whose life and work is amongst the most significant of all time.
Some people think only snobs enjoy Mozart, but that isn't true. When it comes to music, it's all a matter de gustibus (a matter of taste). I had a music teacher once who said that you need to listen to a piece of music seven times before you judge it: only after listening to a song that many times can you determine if it's to your taste.
Heather Buck, the contemporary political-economic theorist (and my sister), believes that everyone should expose himself to Hip-Hop music once a week in order to take the pulse of the nation's culture. I believe that this exposure is important, too, especially when it means venturing outside of one's usual realm of style. It may be surprising how stirring some of this music can be. A fan of Country music should listen to Alterna-rock now and then, and a Death Metal headbanger should force himself to listen to the perky beat of Pop music, if not for anything else other than to remember why he is so filled with angst. For those that think fans of Mozart are snobs, I challenge you to honestly expose yourselves to his work before you pass further judgment. Remember, that means listening to any of his pieces seven times -- then you can say whatever you like about them.
The great thing about Mozart is that you don't need to really strain to listen; the music carries you away even with the most superficial contact. Some composers' works demand a conscious choice to sit down and learn to appreciate them, but that's not the case with Mozart. In fact, I believe that "appreciation" is an inaccurate description of what happens when you listen to Mozart: you feel, instead, admiration.
What is it about Mozart that is so moving? I believe it is the heart in his works. Nowadays we're exposed to so much "elegance" that it is really difficult to be inspired. Just look at the opulence of our shopping malls, their tall windows and fancy storefronts. The architecture of common, public places is larger than life, and more real than real (to paraphrase Umberto Eco in his essay "Travels in Hyperreality": a premise more true today than when it was originally published). Trendy chain restaurants are homogenized to offer not only the same ample menu, but the same atmosphere of stucco walls and arched doorways. We have catalogs of expensive clothing, designer accessories, and home furnishings to bring elegance to our living rooms. We are surrounded by elegance, but how much of this is a facade and how much is truly refined? What is it about this flavor of elegance that isn't quite right? I believe it's cold; it lacks craftsmanship; it lacks heart.
250 years after the birth of Mozart, his music epitomizes true elegance, without the frills of snobbery. You cannot listen to Mozart without slowing down, turning your head, and feeling something in your heart. Not only is his music superbly written, but beneath it all there is something soulful. There's a reason that Mozart's "Requiem" is used in feature films during emotional scenes. It gets to us. It reaches us. It's so powerful, it even hurts us. There is nothing artificial about Mozart. His work is real, not inflated. His work will be with us through the ages as it touches a common part of all human nature: something that cannot be put into words, but which only the soul can perceive.
This year, Salzburg is hosting a celebration to honor their much-loved genius. For travel information and to view a short film promoting the celebration, log onto http://www.mozart2006.net/eng/index.html.
Read more about the life and works of Mozart in the following books:
1791: MOZART'S LAST YEAR
AUTHOR: LANDON, H.C. ROBBINS
PUBLISHER: THAMES & HUDSON
$17.95 PAPER
ISBN: 0500281076
B&T YBP
CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO MOZART; ED. BY SIMON P. KEEFE
PUBLISHER: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
$75.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0521807344
B&T YBP
FABER POCKET GUIDE TO MOZART
AUTHOR: KENYON, NICHOLAS
PUBLISHER: FABER AND FABER
$16.85 PAPER
ISBN: 0571223761
B&T YBP
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF MOZART: THE INSTRUMENTAL WORKS
AUTHOR: HURWITZ, DAVID
PUBLISHER: AMADEUS
$22.95 PAPER
ISBN: 1574670964
B&T YBP
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF MOZART: THE VOCAL WORKS
AUTHOR: HURWITZ, DAVID
PUBLISHER: AMADEUS
$22.95 PAPER
ISBN: 1574671065
B&T YBP
MAGIC FLUTE=DIE ZAUBERFLOT: AN ALCHEMICAL ALLEGORY
AUTHOR: BERK, M.F.M. VAN DEN
PUBLISHER: BRILL
$249.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 9004130993
B&T YBP
MOZART: A CULTURAL BIOGRAPHY
AUTHOR: GUTMAN, ROBERT W.
PUBLISHER: HARCOURT
$20.00 PAPER
ISBN: 0156011719
B&T YBP
MOZART: A MEDITATION ON HIS LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH
AUTHOR: CARTER, STEFAN
PUBLISHER: HEARTLAND ASSOCIATES PUB
$26.95 CLOTH
ISBN: 189615025X
B&T YBP
MOZART: THE EARLY YEARS, 1756-1781
AUTHOR: SADIE, STANLEY
PUBLISHER: W.W. NORTON
$35.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0393061124
B&T YBP
MOZART: THE EARLY YEARS, 1756-1781
AUTHOR: SADIE, STANLEY
PUBLISHER: W.W. NORTON
$35.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0393061124
B&T YBP
MOZART-DA PONTE OPERAS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
AUTHOR: DU MONT, MARY
PUBLISHER: GREENWOOD
$99.95 CLOTH
ISBN: 0313304130
B&T YBP
MOZART'S LETTERS, MOZART'S LIFE: SELECTED LETTERS; ED. BY ROBERT SPAETHLING
PUBLISHER: W.W. NORTON
$35.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0393047199
B&T YBP
MOZART'S PIANO CONCERTOS
AUTHOR: IRVING, JOHN
PUBLISHER: ASHGATE
$89.95 CLOTH
ISBN: 0754607070
B&T YBP
MOZART'S PIANO CONCERTOS: A STUDY
AUTHOR: FLOTHUIS, MARIUS.
PUBLISHER: RODOPI
$31.05 PAPER
ISBN: 9042014148
B&T YBP
MOZART'S PIANO CONCERTOS: DRAMATIC DIALOGUE IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
AUTHOR: KEEFE, SIMON P.
PUBLISHER: BOYDELL
$70.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 085115834X
B&T YBP
MOZART'S WOMEN: HIS FAMILY, HIS FRIENDS, HIS MUSIC
AUTHOR: GLOVER, JANE
PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS
$27.95 CLOTH
ISBN: 0060563508
B&T YBP
NEW GROVE MOZART; ED. BY CLIFF EISEN
PUBLISHER: PALGRAVE
$12.95 PAPER
ISBN: 0312233256
B&T YBP
NOTES ON MOZART: 20 CRUCIAL WORKS
AUTHOR: WILSON, CONRAD
PUBLISHER: SAINT ANDREW PRESS
$17.53 PAPER
ISBN: 0715208071
B&T YBP
OPERA'S SECOND DEATH
AUTHOR: ZIZEK, SLAVOJ
PUBLISHER: ROUTLEDGE
$95.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0415930162
B&T YBP
OPUS ULTIMUM: THE STORY OF THE MOZART REQUIEM
AUTHOR: LEESON, DANIEL N.
PUBLISHER: ALGORA PUBLISHING
$28.95 CLOTH
ISBN: 0875863299
B&T YBP
POSSESSOR AND THE POSSESSED: HANDEL, MOZART, BEETHOVEN, AND THE IDEA OF MUSICAL GENIUS
AUTHOR: KIVY, PETER
PUBLISHER: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
$47.50 CLOTH
ISBN: 0300087586
B&T YBP
THREE MODES OF PERCEPTION IN MOZART: THE PHILOSOPHICAL, PASTORAL, AND COMIC IN COSI FAN TUTTE
AUTHOR: GOEHRING, EDMUND JOSEPH
PUBLISHER: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
$80.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0521838819
B&T YBP
WORDS ABOUT MOZART: ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF STANLEY SADIE; ED. BY DOROTHEA LINK
PUBLISHER: BOYDELL
$110.00 CLOTH
ISBN: 0851157947
B&T YBP
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