Greetings,
By now you know that I appreciate traditions – those of the larger community, those of extended family, and also those of my own experience. Part of my tradition is to celebrate the great artists, writers, and composers who mean so much to me. Such people are truly blessed by God, and it is a joy to experience the fruit of their gifts. Traditions, at least good traditions, keep us grounded in the presence of God and constant action and blessing of God.
January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791
Rejoice! Give thanks! Even sing and celebrate, for today is Mozart’s birthday. How greatly we are blessed by God to have the marvelous outpouring of genius from Mozart’s mind and heart. How much richer and fuller are our lives because of the beauty and grace and challenge of his music. How deeply we are moved by his intellect and emotions. What fun and excitement he has brought into our lives.
Around 2 am this morning some of us celebrated the gift and toasted the genius. We first listened to the Requiem, perhaps the pinnacle of his achievements. We heard the version by Robert Shaw, that the great choral leader who began his career under Toscanini.
Whenever I hear the Requiem I remember the performance of it in Boston after President Kennedy died. A very elderly Cardinal Cushing celebrated a full requiem mass with the Boston Symphony and Erich Linsdorf performing the Mozart. As often happens in such situations, the performance was extremely powerful and electric. My friend Ed had worked as in intern (when intern meant nothing but intern) at the White House and got us in. (He had also gotten us into the White House employees viewing in the East Room.) It was an excruciatingly sad and yet uplifting experience.
We then listened to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (certainly one of my all time favorite pieces). The perfect “pick-me-up” for any occasion. Then the overtures to The Impresario, Così Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Magic Flute. We capped the remembrance off with the Masonic Funeral Music. Of course we only scratched the surface of his tremendous output, but it was sufficient to remind us of the brilliance, depth and joy of his work. One of the beat parts of growing old is the wonderful opportunity to reminisce. The unbelievable Nilsson/Price performance of Don Giovanni. The fabulous James Morris Don early in his career at the Met. The Eva Marton Queen of the Night - which ruined her voice, but was truly great.
Over the next few days, I would encourage you to try to listen to some Mozart. Give me a call if you want to, and don’t have any available - you can come over - I’ll be more than happy to listen to some more.
Yours & His,
DED
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