Does Mozart really justify such attention?

[reith]

I've been listening to a few Rossini operas in the background and I came to realise that he probably wrote as good music as Mozart, certainly started at a young enough age - about 18 with his first one though he'd already won a few prizes with cantatas - and had an innate knack at writing for stage.

It struck me that we Western Europeans set such store in Mozart and Beethoven because we got pushed along the Germanic rather than Italian route. It could be that Italian music is every bit as good but was neglected because i) its fame rests mostly on the stage and ii) it was written for singers of extraordinary ability for which the training seemed to lapse once Verdi/Puccini came on the scene and has only recently been revived. Therefore, for a while it fell out of the range of most opera singers.

The little research I've done tells me things like: between about 1900 and 1970, Lucia di Lammermoor was considered a target for anyone interested in the Bel Canto era. In its time it was just another run-of-the-mill opera that happened to become a hit.

Could it be that the Italian skills were just too good to keep going whereas Mozart was accessible - like, anyone can have a crack at his Sonatas, all you need is a piano or harpsichord - and symphonies are cheaper and easier to perform than stage works?

I think Mozart is fine - most of it. But does it justify fame compared to what was going on at the same time. Rossini was certainly as celebrated as Mozart in his lifetime.

[MaestroX]

I'm glad you've brought this up reith, because what we think of composers now through their music and history isn't what the general public would have thought all those years ago.

I think one of the main reasons we hear Mozart's music so much nowadays is that its so accessible. The music doesn’t demand anything from the listener, so a great proportion of the population who are not versed in classical music can appreciate and enjoy it.

Whereas the main question "Does Mozart really justify such attention?" my answer would be yes. Mozart is a key stepping stone for many to the world of classical music. He was a great performer and composer, why should we not "justify such attention" just because other performers and composers exist that many people "feel" must be recognised too. His music has survived the test of time.