MPR: About Us: 250 Years of Mozart

As part of Minnesota Public Radio's celebration of 250 years of Mozart we asked, "How has Mozart's music touched your life?" and you shared. Read about people's favorite pieces and how Mozart's music has affected their lives!

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
The Requiem, XIII, Agnus Dei

Why?
I just find it to be a very beautiful piece of music, and it never fails to move me.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
Mozart's music has greatly enriched my life. It has also helped me to appreciate classical music in general and opera. When I heard "Der Holle Rache" ("Queen of the Night") I was nearly brought to tears. It was difficult to choose the Requiem over "Der Holle Rache" for my favorite.

Jim Freschi
St. Paul, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
"The Magic Flute"

Why?
When I was in college, I studied for and performed the part of the Queen of the Night. It was a highlight of my college years.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
Mozart has a way of centering and focusing me. I turn to Mozart when I need to relax and rejuvenate. Mozart ignites my day.

Janean Hall
Waterville, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
"The Magic Flute" is close to number one.

Why?
I saw the old film version of it in Swedish one night on TV and was hooked.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
While in graduate school, I decided to expand my musical interests into the classical genre, as I was only familiar with a few well-known pieces. I didn't know any Mozart. I picked up a compilation CD at Best Buy for a couple of bucks, and went home to put it on while doing schoolwork. The second track was the Andante from Piano Concerto No. 21, and its beauty overwhelmed me. My young son even commented on it. We played it over and over that day. It sent me on a lifetime journey to explore his life and work. I still have only heard a fraction of his work. I simply could not live without a daily dose of his genius.

Cynthia Bullard
Burnsville, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
The Requiem

Why?
When I was in graduate school and the pressure was on, the Requiem was the only piece of music that provided true solace and comfort. My major was literature, and I had acted in a Peter Schaffer play called "Equus." So when "Amadeus" came out, I was naturally curious. I was struck by the idea that a piece of music, while being composed, could take the life out of the composer, because I had had the same experience with playwriting - although with less successful results.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
I have to admit that it was a first date with a friend of mine that started it all. We went to a concert where several chamber pieces were being played. My date seemed very bored, but I tried to arouse her interest by pointing out the Mozart on the program, and assuring her that she would find it livelier. She did, and the date was a big success.

Robert Fuerste
Stillwater, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
I could never choose.

Why?
I love them all at different times and for different reasons.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
His music puts my heart to a state of ease and reminds me that life is to be cherished and enjoyed from the good times to the bad ones.

Jacob Waggoner
Fort Worth, TX

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
The Requiem mass

Why?
I know I'm not the only one having difficulty picking just one favorite. I'm sitting here scanning my brain and "Requiem" just keeps popping up, so I'll go with that. It's definitely his most memorable piece for me because of its powerful emotion. I suppose "haunting" describes it better than "memorable." I'm far from an expert on classical music, so I'll try my best to describe exactly why I love this piece so much. I like it because Mozart departs from his usual light and playful sound, using his strings instead to deliver forceful, dark, somber, and mournful sounds. The chorus nearly moves me to tears at times, like during "Rex" and the following movement. In my opinion, nothing in classical music compares to the emotional force in this piece. It is compelling in a way that pieces of art today just aren't.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
Mozart introduced me to classical music while I was very young and taking piano lessons. I studied piano for several years, but little of those studies have remained with me. However, my love affair with classical music that began back then has never ended. You could say Mozart was my first composer, and he's still my favorite.

Mine is not so much a technical or intellectual appreciation of Mozart's works, but an emotional one. He has been a constant companion to me for most of my life. There's no other composer or artist I could listen to regularly, year after year, without tiring of them. That's because Mozart's music makes me feel alive, and it is also a comfort to me. It's like chocolate on a bad day, the indent on my side of the couch that has come to fit my body like a glove, the gray men's turtleneck sweater that I drown in, or my favorite pair of tattered and frayed blue jeans that I can't bring myself to throw away. In fact, that is the best way to listen to Mozart: on a quiet evening, in my favorite jeans and over-sized sweater, curled up with a cup of hot chocolate on the couch. This can soothe away just about anything life may throw at me.

Mozart's music is just one of those "little things" in life that we sometimes take for granted. If after I pass on, I am asked what things I miss most about living, my list would have to include something like this: the purr of my cat curled up against me, the blue of the sky and warmth of the sun on a beautiful day, the taste of warm apple crisp with ice cream, and the sweet sound of a Mozart concerto. Besides the love of family and friends, those really are the best things in life.

Angela Knapp
St. Paul, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
How can one be expected to choose one favorite?

Why?
My favorite depends on my mood or what I am feeling at a particular time, what I happen to be doing, who I am with, who the musical artist is. My favorite changes, because there are so many from which to choose.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
It has had a positive effect for as long as I can remember. Having been born on January 27th, I am so fortunate to have wonderful musical pieces performed each year for my birthday. And this year everyone is going all out to make this January 27th exceptionally special!

Shirley Kopp
North St. Paul, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, K. 622

Why?
My mother is a pianist and was a clarinetist who had played Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet, K. 622. It was my mother who inspired me to take clarinet lessons at age ten. And my mother was my accompanist when it was my turn to explore this K. 622 masterpiece for high school solo contest day. Playing Mozart with my mother is lifetime memory. My clarinet teacher, Mrs. Light, and my mother gave me the confidence to play Mozart; it may have been a pallid performance, but I felt the spirit of Mozart. My daughter became an inspired clarinetist under the guidance of Ms. Karen Olson and Ms. Marlene Pauley. She played the K. 622 for our congregation on Mother's Day when she was in high school. It is a gift I will always treasure. The three generations of clarinets and the K. 622 are a grand family tradition. The next generation has two guitar players - one acoustic and one electric - and a new violist. But the current generation clarinet player did not soar. When he forged a letter from his mother to the band teacher stating that he would no longer have time for band, that was the sign to all of the end of the family clarinet tradition. At 86 years, my mother still plays piano and accompanies, so perhaps there is a Mozart piece for piano, guitars and viola for the oldest and newest generations to enjoy together. Including electric rock guitar seems like an element Mozart would enjoy today.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
Mozart's music seems to be an integral part of life. Having once studied Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet, K. 622, I have always been captivated by any performance over the decades - each hearing seems new and thrilling. I would hope that some of the last musical moments of my life would be the strains of K. 622 and Mozart.

Ruth Arnold
Minneapolis, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
Symphony No. 25 in G minor

Why?
It is one of only two symphonies he wrote in G minor, the other being No. 40, of course. I love it because it sounds very sad, but also pissed off, maybe because he wrote it after the death of his son. While some of his other work is darker, No. 25 is probably the only piece that could be utilized as a score to a slasher film.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
Mozart is a tool I use to shut off the noise in my head when it gets too loud. No matter what I'm doing, or how upset I am, whenever Mozart comes on, all I can do is concentrate on the sublime ecstasy of silence in between his notes.

Anthony Kuntz
Crystal, MN

What is your favorite Mozart piece?
The Requiem

Why?
I remember listening to the Requiem as a child. I could feel Mozart's passion through the yearning of the strings and broadness of the low brass along with the delicate nuances of the bassoon voice. As a seven-year-old, I remember lying on our living room floor listening to the Requiem, feeling emotive and not understanding why.

How has Mozart's music affected you?
The emotion he poured into his music - love, joy, frustration, revelation - was and continues to be a muse for me.

Sarah Erkkinen
St. Paul, MN

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