The “Mozart Effect” is a term that has captured the imagination of educators, parents, and scientists alike since it first emerged in the early 1990s. It refers to the purported cognitive enhancement—particularly in spatial reasoning—resulting from listening to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. What began as a modest scientific observation has since ballooned into a cultural phenomenon, spawning …
There is a very popular anecdote about the meeting of Mozart and Beethoven. According to this, when Beethoven first visited Vienna in 1787 (at age 17), he was introduced to Mozart. The young talent played a piece and when he saw Mozart was not impressed, he begged for more time to improvise. This finally convinced Mozart, who said: “Mark that …
We continue our series on musical influencers in Beethoven’s life. Next in line is no less than Mozart himself! From his childhood everybody wanted him to be a Mozart! How did this expectation influence his life? There is a very popular anecdote about the young Beethoven visiting Vienna for the first time, and being introduced to the supreme Master, even …
According to legend Beethoven not only met Mozart, but was lucky enough to receive a few lessons from him in composition. We like to mix fantasy and reality, a wishful thinking and facts. There are many layers of false traditions sticking to the heroes of humanity, Beethoven is not exception. Let us take a closer look and see if these …