NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > MOZART FINALLY RELEASES NEW MUSIC

MOZART FINALLY RELEASES NEW MUSIC

July 23 2009

Salzburg, Austria – The name Mozart has almost become synonymous with the idea of the child prodigy. Composing his first piece at the age of five the musical polymath went on to become one of the most prodigious composers of all times. Between the age of five and thirty-five Mozart composed over six hundred works, many of which
are now considered amongst the greatest symphonic works ever produced. With plays, movies, and biographies fully appreciating his genius there is little doubt of Mozart’s influence on contemporary music and culture.

It is from influence and acclaim that frustration is borne. With no new music in over two hundred years many fans and critics have been frustrated with the lack of output by the once prodigious composer. That though seems to have changed with the announcement of two new pieces recently unveiled in France. Though few details have yet been released music officials have announced that a full presentation will be made next week with performances of the new pieces to follow shortly afterwards. The announcement of course comes as a great relief to fans and critics who were afraid that they might never hear new music from the composer again.

“It’s really quite an exciting event. There are a lot of people, myself included, who thought that we would never hear another piece from Mozart again but is appears that has changed. I think just about everyone had given up on hearing new music but luckily for all music fans we will once again hear music from the greatest composer,” said Scrape TV Music analyst Dylan Chambers. “It’s fairly common for great artists to have limited output in their later years but this is a little extreme. It’s been 218 years since we last heard an original piece from Mozart which is of course a very long time to wait. I think most people had given up on him by now.”

Also adding to the unlikely nature of the release is Mozart’s death in 1791 which contributed significantly to his decreased output in recent years. The release new pieces have shown many that genius at the scale of Mozart’s is not inhibited by the shuttling of the mortal coil.

“People like John Lennon and Elvis have obviously had great careers after their deaths and some like Tupac Shakur have had tremendous output since dying but the window of time that we are looking at with Mozart made it
more and more unlikely that we would ever hear new music again,” continued Chambers. “Whether or not it will be any good or not is a different issue. I’m sure the critics will have their knives sharpened and be ready to go. It’s not often that new music produced two hundred years since death is any good. In any artistic form the unfortunate truth is that as people age the quality of their material starts to decline and that may be true even for a genius like Mozart.”

It’s not yet clear who will record the new compositions or in what form they will be released. Classical music has traditionally done poorly on the illegal download market.

“I’m sure if this is a success many record labels will be looking to classical composers to help buffer their failing fortunes. If they can successfully avoid the download-mania that seems to accompany any major release with Mozart than they may look to other artists to help carve out a new niche and put some money back in their coffers, at least until t takes off amongst the younger crowd,” continued Chambers. “From Beethoven to Strauss there’s almost no end to the number of artists out there for record companies to go after. Whether they will be able to nudge them out of the afterlife is a different issue entirely but at least they have a new direction in which to move which hopefully will help bolster their fortunes.”

Previous attempts to raise artists from the dead – most notably Shakespeare – have mostly fallen flat.     

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > MOZART FINALLY RELEASES NEW MUSIC