Happy Birthday, Wolfie!

I know this is a piano forum, but let's not forget that old Wolfie loved the voice and the clarinet too....

The famous trio from Cosi fan tutte (Soave sia il vento): http://youtu.be/6Wi7UsXW1As
And his Clarinet Concerto's slow movement, used in countless movies to depict resignation, elegiac rumination, rapture..... http://youtu.be/BxgmorK61YQ

Both are absolutely sublime. I posted the Trio on my Facebook page this morning.

Ever since I heard Victor Borge's skit: "Today is Mozart's 235th Birthday. So, in honor of that, I played Beethoven. You see, I play Mozart very poorly, and I don't think he would like that very much. However, I also play Beethoven very poorly, and that, I am sure he would enjoy," I can't help but play as much Beethoven as possible on Mozart's birthday.

Mozart. Mozart!

Bach, Beethoven and Mozart... whenever I hear their music, I always think they are the greatest. Comforting to know that I will unlikely be banished to a desert island and have to choose between them before embarking!

I have read that people with near death experiences -and also on LSD- have seen their life play out literally in seconds. One day I experienced this with the finale of the K503.

Not near death, nor on drugs, but something happened one evening which I will never forget. It was over before I quite realized what struck me, and I have never been the same since.

There are a lot of things in life which cannot be explained, yet we are grateful for -even a special pet adopting us- but Mozart remains an unexplained miracle to me.

One last video to post to honor Mozart on his birthday. This was my Mother's absolutely favorite piece of music.

and I didn't even get him a card. HBDWAM!

My absolute favorite. Pure energy.

I always LOVED this:

I play Mozart very poorly, and I don't think he would like that very much.

The sky is crying tears of joy because it witnessed Mozart's birth on this day. (ie. It's raining here. Sky raining tears of joy just makes it more poetical and appropriate for Old Amadeus)

People with long memories (and maybe long in the tooth, like me ) may remember when they first watched the movie 'Amadeus'. It came out when I was on holiday (Inter-railing) around Europe, and was in Amsterdam then. I couldn't wait till I returned to Britain, so I watched it in a cinema there - in English, with Dutch subtitles.

That K466 Romanza was played (by Ivan Moravec, with the ASMF conducted by Neville Marriner) over the very long closing credits. Nobody budged from their seats, and everybody remained quiet; a few were seen wiping away tears, and when the music finally stopped, a silence, then long applause.

I don't know whether the applause was for the music, or the composer, or the movie - or all three. But it was the most moving reaction to any movie I'd ever witnessed.

The beautiful slow movement of K330 is often played as an encore: here is Mitsuko Uchida http://youtu.be/U37SB4i54JU
And now, Horowitz, in his idiosyncratic manner..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQzp_-N6lUs (if that doesn't work, try http://youtu.be/W_jG6-B-lwU - an earlier, less indulgent performance).

I recall a similar reaction from the audience when I saw the movie in Sydney in 1985.