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Article: Mozart at 250: No Signs of Slowing Down; As Birthday Nears, Composer Is the One Bestowing Gifts
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 22, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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It is now 250 years since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in
Salzburg, Austria -- and some 245 years since this prodigy among
prodigies fashioned his first little pieces for keyboard under the
helpful eye of his father, Leopold. The world has changed radically
since 1756 but Mozart remains a constant -- we continue to regard
the mixture of clarity, grace and formal balance in his music with
undiminished awe. He seems to have been incapable of vulgarity or
overstatement: In his mature works, there is hardly a wasted gesture
or a note out of place. And yet it all seems so effortless, so
absolutely spontaneous.
Indeed, because Mozart's music is so flowing, direct and eloquent,
many ...