Happy Birthday, Mozart!

Today is W.A. Mozart's 250th birthday. It is reported that the Maestro was born at approximately 20:00h CET (UTC +0100) in Salzburg 250 years ago. Mozart was trained from an early age by his father, Leopold, and wrote his first symphony (which I have always found amazingly intricate) by the age of ten. He lived a quite a life and composed opera, chamber works for small ensembles, symphonies, concerti for solo instruments (or groups of instruments) and orchestra, songs and sacred masses. His music was responsible for the controversial Mozart Effect which was thought to induce better concentration during academic studies.

Mozart's music lives on in concert halls, recordings, television commercials and even cell phone ring tones. So wherever you are today, spend a few moments listening to the sounds around you and listen for the influence of Mozart.