Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s top music outlet, takes a look at the influence Mozart had on music
Today marks the 261st birthday of famed composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Known for the approximately six hundred compositions he
wrote during his short life, his work continues to find a place in modern music
to this day.
A child prodigy, Mozart wrote his first pieces between the
ages of four and five and his first symphony at the age of eight. By his teen
years, he was already writing and premiering very successful operas and playing
concerts to hundreds of adoring fans.
However, it is some of his later pieces that have gotten the
most attention. His three most notable operas, “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Don
Giovanni” and “The Magic Flute,” as well as Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, were
all written and/or performed in the last five years of his life.
What stands out most about Mozart’s style is its adaptability.
Though firmly in the Classical period, he took influence from everything he
heard. He picked up different techniques and sounds during his travels as a
young boy. His love of opera came from Italy’s opera buffa, while he learned
about avant-garde techniques in Mannheim. Later in life he began to include elements of
Baroque and Romantic-era styles into his own. As a result, his music varied
greatly in genre, with his 600 compositions ranging from sonatas and concertos
to operas and symphonies.
To say that Mozart was influential to other musicians is an
understatement. His influence can be heard in the work of such notable
composers as Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. Music students are still taught
his works in conservatories around the world. Hip-Hop and R&B artists like
Ludacris, Young Buck and Kelis have all sampled his operas in their songs.
Mozart is still one of the most popular composers to date. His
work continues to soundtrack everything from television shows and movies to
video games. His life story has been told many times in literature in the
theater and on the big screen. Last year, a definitive 200-CD box set of his
work was released and became the top-selling CD of the year (if you count each
disc separately, like Billboard does).
Mozart’s work has been able to transcend time and genre in a
way that cannot be matched by many other artists or composers. While classical
music might not seem like the most popular of genres in today’s musical climate,
his symphonies, operas, sonatas and concertos have remained a constant
influence on countless generations of musicians in a wide variety of genres. As
long as people are still playing and appreciating his work, Mozart’s legacy
will live on.
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Find music from Mozart and other historic musicians at Vinyl
Bay 777 and vinylbay777.com. Long Island’s top new independent record shop has a
wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs and cultural
memorabilia. Shop in store and online to find thousands of titles spanning the entire
musical landscape. More titles are being added all the time, making now the
perfect time to stop by and see what’s new.
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