Mozart

154 Posts
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On This Day
27 January: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Was Born
On 27 January 1756 a boy was born to Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria, née Pertl, in an apartment on the third floor of Getreidegasse 9 in the city of Salzburg. That particular house is still standing, and
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Mozart and the Stuttering Dim-Witted Judge
Mozart operas are filled with commedia dell’arte stock characters, scenarios and situations that provide the framework for jokes, buffoonery, and just plain silliness! Some famous stock characters of the commedia include a pair of young people suffering from a wildly
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The Genius Boys
Mozart, Linley and Lamotte
Musical tourism to Italy was in full swing by the middle of the 18th century. Italian cities and courts welcomed streams of musicians in search of performing opportunities, official appointments or commissions, and steady jobs. And that included the three
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On This Day
5 December: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Died
At 12:55 am on 5 December 1791, the singular and unique Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took his last breath. He had fallen ill in Prague in September 1791, but continued his professional activities, including conducting the premiere of The Magic Flute
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Food for Thought
Mealtime With Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart loved billiards, his pet starling, and food! Food was plentiful in Vienna during Mozart’s time, and a cheap and common meal would have consisted of two large meat dishes with soup, vegetables, bread, and a quarter liter
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Mozart and His Circle of Friends II
The composer and tenor Benedikt Schack (1758-1826) was a close friend of Mozart, and he was the first performer of the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute. Schack hailed from the Bohemian provinces of the Austrian Empire, but moved
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Mozart and His Circle of Friends I
Let’s start this little series on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his circle of friends with a look at the supposed relationship between Mozart and Beethoven. Biographer Otto Jahn related the following anecdote: “Beethoven… was introduced to Mozart, and played to
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Dragging Mozart into the 21st Century
In the 21st Century, pop stars—real, imagined or virtual—are a dime a dozen. In 250 years will we see their faces printed on chocolates, dishtowels, coffee cups and all kinds of digital media? I suspect that the great majority will
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