THE MAN – MOZART – THE MUSIC

A celebration in learning, designed to heighten your experience of the music
of history’s greatest prodigy, in this, the 250th Anniversary of his birth.

Lecture 1 - Mozart & the Stage
From his 11th year(!), Mozart wrote works for the stage until his death at 35.
Twenty-two in all – among them his century’s greatest singspiel ,greatest opera
buffa, & greatest drama giocoso. This session studies the new fusion of music
& dramaturgy which took Mozart from wunderkind to the heights of mastery.

Lecture 2 - Mozart & the Symphony
While in his 8th year(!) and starting in England, Mozart composed the first of
his 41 Symphonies. Building on the ideas of others, then surpassing every
contemporary except Haydn, he took the form to a peak. This class focuses on
Mozart’s development as a sensational symphonist, who was ahead of his time.

Lecture 3 - Mozart & the Concerto
At 11, the boy began arranging the music of others for keyboard & orchestra
then, in his teens, began originating concerted works (more than 40) for an array
of instruments – bassoon, flute, clarinet, harp, horn, oboe, piano, & violin (more
than 40 in all). This presentation treats that amazing phenomenon’s perfection.

Lecture 4 - Mozart & the Chamber
Beginning in his 7th year, Mozart composed works to be performed in courtly
chambers & aristocratic settings. At 9, he invented the duet-sonata! From his pen
flowed unparalleled sonatas, variations, trios, quartets, quintets & songs. This
class investigates Mozart’s charming achievements for 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 performers

Lecture 5 -Mozart & the Church
From a Kyrie at 10 & a mass at 12, Mozart wrote music for the church to the end of his days – leaving incomplete the greatest Requiem of the 18th century. In this final session, litanies, vespers, motets, misereres, & mass movements show his uncanny capacities for profound expression through music of deeply held beliefs.

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