Kleine Nachtmusik
The Timeless Beauty Of Mozart’s Music
The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most well-known of any composer the world has ever seen. Almost everyone has heard of how Mozart was composing music by the age of five (some urban legends even claim it was at age two) and performing before kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, before he was seven years old. He created more than 600 compositions, from operas to sonatas to full symphonies, and died tragically, mysteriously, before his 36th birthday in 1791. Some of his more famous pieces of music include Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music, 1787) and the operas Don Giovanni (1787) and Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute, 1791).
The movie Amadeus (1984) put into popular parlance the idea of Mozart as an immature and spoiled musical prodigy, given to fast living and obnoxious, braying laughter. It also portrays him as having been tormented by a brooding, jealous rival composer named Salieri, who may or may not have killed him. History paints only a slightly less dramatic picture. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was the only son of a professional musician who very early on recognized the boy’s extraordinary musical talent. Today’s critical and politically correct eyes may look with disfavor on the way that Leopold Mozart exploited his son’s musical genius, but at the time it was neither uncommon nor unacceptable to parade child prodigies through the courts of Europe. The young Mozart spent his boyhood at the feet of kings and queens, performing and composing and perfecting his unique musical vision.
He also spent his childhood suffering from various illnesses-tuberculosis, tonsillitis, and typhoid are just some of the many ailments he is said to have suffered. He was a sickly child and each bout of poor health left him reduced in vigor, more frail, and more susceptible to what would, ultimately, kill him. Legend has it that he was poisoned, but recent, more scientific explanation has it that he died of rheumatic fever, even while working to complete one of his greatest musical accomplishments, the Requiem.
Mozart’s music, like his life, defies easy classification. As a product of what historians term the Classical Era (1750-1825), he perfected the prevalent musical forms of symphony, opera, and concerto, and yet he also turned them on their heads. The upper-crust audiences for whom he played were jarred by his complex, mysterious, sometimes raucous music, accustomed as they were to lighter, more frivolous pieces. In 1782, the Emperor Joseph II even told Mozart that his German opera had “too many notes.”
Such a characterization of Mozart’s music may well seem absurd to us today, who have been conditioned to think of Mozart as an unparalleled genius. Even before birth, babies are rocked to sleep by Mozart’s music being piped into their mothers’ wombs. We relax to his music, we grow to it, we learn through it; his music enriches and inspires our lives.
About the Author
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Mozart ” Eine kleine Nachtmusik” Allegro
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Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Divertimento K136 / Haydn: Symphony No. 45 Farewell [VHS] $10.97 … |
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Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – Classic Encounters with Robert Winter [VHS] $12.98 … |
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Classic Visions 3 / Eine Kleine Nachtmusik [VHS] $7.97 … |
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Mozart – Famous String Quartets / Gewandhaus Quartet $10.66 W A MOZART:FAMOUS STRING QTS – DVD Movie… |
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Mozart: Symphonies Vol. I – Nos. 29,34,35,40,41 and Minuet K.409 $17.59 MOZART:SYMPHONIES I – DVD Movie… |
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Mozart: Symphonies Vol. II – Nos. 1,25,31,36,38 and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik $16.78 MOZART:SYMPHONIES II – DVD Movie… |
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See Thru Wind Up Music Box- EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK (MOZART) $6.95 These See Thru Wind Up Music Makers are a great as a gift for children, musicians, or for yourself! Watch the mechanism turn while you wind it! Made of quality materials for durability!! Must be wound continuously to hear tune…. |
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Enchantmints Owl Travelers Music Box Plays the music of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik while the fairy and its feathered friend is twirling. Made of solid hardware medium density fiberboard with a high resolution graphic printed paper. Recommended age of 8 years and up. Measures 10 x 6 x 2.25 inches…. |
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Harry Potter Musical Waterball, Plays the Tune Eline Kleine Nachtmusik Harry Potter Musical Waterball by Enesco. Harry Potter is sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him. Harry is leaning back on his trunk where the water ball sits on top with Hedwig inside. Water ball contains glitter and moves when you shake it up. The musical tune plays: “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”…. |
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Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Serenata Notturna, & Sinfonia Concertante (Dover Miniature Music Scores) $2.22 Three charming instrumental pieces, composed by Mozart in the 1770s and 1780s for an evening’s entertainment in the homes of friends and patrons, includes Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, a beloved staple of the orchestral repertoire. Now reproduced from an author… |
