Today is the birthday of our musician of the week, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a famous composer from the Classical Period (right after the Baroque Period). We are listening to some of his famous works:
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (German: “A Little Night Music”)
Symphony No.41 In C (nicknamed “Jupiter” after the chief Roman god; watch the VSO’s performance starting at 14:37)
Piano Sonata No 11 (last movement “Rondo alla Turca”)
Piano Sonata No. 16
Variations on Ah Vous Dirai-je Maman (later known as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”)
Overture from The Marriage of Figaro (a comic opera about pranks before Figaro’s wedding)
Queen of the Night Aria (featured in this Volvo commercial) from The Magic Flute (his last opera, about a damsel in distress and the handsome prince who rescues her), see this recording of a boy singing these high notes!
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (clarinet was the first band instrument I learned in grade 6!)
Tag: violin
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi was an Italian composer in the Baroque Period. Vivaldi wrote more than 400 concertos for various instruments, especially for the violin. The scores of 21 operas, including his first and last, are still intact. His most popular work is the group of four violin concertos called “The Four Seasons”. Each concerto describes a season: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. We watched a recent recording by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum Theatre (Spring 
0:20, Summer 
10:14, Autumn 
19:55, Winter 
31:10). We didn’t have time to listen to more, but here are other famous works Vivaldi composed: Trio in C Major, Gloria in D
0:20, Summer 10:14, Autumn 19:55, Winter 31:10). We didn’t have time to listen to more, but here are other famous works Vivaldi composed: Trio in C Major, Gloria in D