I’ve always been a big fan of classical music, and my all time favourite composer is Mozart. It’s not just about the style of his music, it’s about the character he was – outgoing and passionate, Mozart loved life, but he didn’t take it too seriously, even though he was in what was considered to be a very serious profession. To say he was brilliant is an understatement – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in my opinion, is one of the most remarkable people that has ever lived.
I think he would have gotten a real kick out of this Internet stuff. Mozart was a sociable guy, and had a great sense of humour. He was also wildly intelligent – my bet is, he would have picked up on the technology part pretty quickly – and I’m sure he’d have sprung to Internet Rockstar status in no time flat.
When it comes to the great artists and composers, I often wonder what they would think if they knew that over the years their art and music had seen such longevity. What would Mozart’s reaction be if he knew that hundreds of years later his work is loved and honoured around the world?
I was thinking this the other night as I sat in Blogger’s Row watching Mozart’s Final Piano Concerto: Beyond the Score, at the National Arts Centre. This unique perspective was brought to life with the talents of the NAC Orchestra, pianist Katherine Chi, soprano Donna Brown, actor Pierre Brault, and narrator Bill Richardson. I was fortunate to be among several local bloggers invited to attend the performance.
The show was a performance of Mozart’s final Concerto – composed not long before his death at the age of 35 – interwoven between fascinating stories that captured the essence of living in Mozart’s day. A large projection screen showed many paintings and lithographs and really helped to create a striking mood.
The result was spectacular, engaging, educational and thought provoking.
The 2nd half of the show was a performance of the entire Concerto from beginning to end. Having heard the breakdown of each part in the first act, it gave me a whole new appreciation for what Mozart was trying to convey through his music.
After the show, the bloggers were invited backstage to take a look around, and have a little visit with Pierre Brault, who highlighted his appreciation for new media’s approach to promoting the arts.
My brother Mike (@aliendaddy), my good friend and creator of the soon-to-be-launched OttawaTonite.com Cheryl (@fendergurl) and I put together this video that captures the essence of the evening. (Well, Mike did most of the shooting and editing work.)
Many, many thanks to Jen Covert (@jcovert) and everyone from the NAC for making us geeks feel special!
Enjoy…
Great post! I agree that Mozart would be all over internet technologies, virtual concerts etc. Thanks for coming.
P.S. You are the fastest iphone texter I have ever seen.
Thanks for the great post and amazing video! thanks to Mike, Cheryl and Sue for being fabulous on-air & off-air people! wow! i’m blown away.
I’m not sure about Mozart & the internet… if he thought that it wasn’t worth going to see a hot air balloon because it was just as good to imagine one… he might think the same about Twitter or other social networking/tech tools! hard to know… 😉
Thanks for sharing your evening with us all. You’ve opened the doors to the NAC for me. It’s amazing how we need little suggestions, nudges and recommendations to get us moving in new directions or to remind us of what is right in front of our noses.
Patti