One Day University with The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, CA)
Mozart: the Man, the Musician, and the Myth
Robert Greenberg / UC Berkeley / SF Performances
It is very possible that Johann Christian Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart (1756-1791) was the greatest genius ever born to our species. The most famous child prodigy in history, he developed into an adult prodigy as well, composing music of such technical perfection and ethereal beauty that it seemed not to have come from the pen of a mere mortal.
To explain his seeming inexplicable talent, myths have accumulated that have obscured Mozart the man and distanced us from his music. This session will debunk those myths, introduce Mozart as a real person living in the real world, and examine his music in light of the musical conventions of his time.