Mozart's 250th Birthday On January 27th, 2006, the world will mark the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth. The celebration has already begun at Performance Today with a weekly series of commentaries, stories and musical tributes to the classical composer.

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Mozart's 250th Birthday

Performance Today's series of commentaries, stories and musical tributes to the classical composer.

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The Mozarteum Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony

January 27, 2006 • On the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, NPR's Fred Child wraps up a week of musical celebrations in Salzburg, Austria. The Mozarteum Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg and the Vienna Symphony perform works from the composer.

The Mozarteum Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony

Audio will be available later today.

Conductor Roger Norrington on Mozart

January 26, 2006 • Sir Roger Norrington joins NPR's Fred Child in Salzburg for Mozart's birthday celebration. He conducts a selection of Mozart masterpieces, including the slow movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor and the famous duet "Bei Maennern" from the opera The Magic Flute.

Conductor Roger Norrington on Mozart

Audio will be available later today.

Mitsuko Uchida on Mozart's G Minor Piano Quartet

January 25, 2006 • Pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins the Hagen Quartet to play the composer's great G minor Piano Quartet, K. 478.

Mitsuko Uchida on Mozart's G Minor Piano Quartet

Audio will be available later today.

Mitsuko Uchida on Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 18

January 24, 2006 • Pianist Mitsuko Uchida joins NPR's Fred Child in Salzburg to discuss the unusual slow movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 18 in F Major, K. 533.

Mitsuko Uchida on Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 18

Audio will be available later today.

The Juilliard Quartet and Shai Wosner play Mozart

January 23, 2006 • NPR's Fred Child hosts Performance Today from Salzburg, Austria, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart. The celebration includes performances from the Juilliard Quartet and Shai Wosner.

The Juilliard Quartet and Shai Wosner play Mozart

Audio will be available later today.

Mozart's Job Hunting Dilemma

January 20, 2006 • Despite being one of the most successful composers of all time, Mozart could rarely find a job. We hear some of the pieces he composed while attempting to receive commissions or job offers, including the Dominicus Mass, K. 66, the Piano Sonata in B-flat, K. 281 and his famous G minor Symphony, No. 40.

Mozart's Job Hunting Dilemma

Audio will be available later today.

A Look at Dads of All Kinds

Leopold Mozart, Father of a Prodigy

January 13, 2006 • Mozart's relationship with his father was one of love and mutual respect, but not subservience. Scholars Neal Zaslaw and Jane Glover explore the relationship. Music includes a sonata for piano and violin, intrigue from The Marriage of Figaro and a piano concerto.

Leopold Mozart, Father of a Prodigy

Audio will be available later today.

The Women in Mozart's Life

January 6, 2006 • As a part of our continuing series of Mozart commentaries, Jane Glover, conductor and author of Mozart's Women, introduces us to the composer's mother, Maria Anne; his sister, Nannerl; and wife, Constanze, pictured at left. All three had an influence on his music.

The Women in Mozart's Life

Audio will be available later today.

Mozart in Prague: 'Don Giovanni,' 'Marriage of Figaro'

December 30, 2005 • We hear the overture to La Clemenza di Tito, by the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Louis Langre conducting; a letter by Mozart with news of the successful premiere of Don Giovanni; from that opera, Cecelia Bartoli and Bryn Terfel sing "La ci darem la mano;" and the overture to The Marriage of Figaro, with Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Mozart in Prague: 'Don Giovanni,' 'Marriage of Figaro'

Audio will be available later today.

Mozart in Prague: Symphony No. 38

December 30, 2005 • Elly Ameling sings the Mozart song "Little Frederick's Birthday," with Dalton Baldwin at piano. And we hear the West German Radio Symphony play Mozart's Symphony No. 38... the "Prague" Symphony.

Mozart in Prague: Symphony No. 38

Audio will be available later today.

Mozart's Salzburg Church Music

December 23, 2005 • Much fuss has been made over how much Mozart hated having to write mostly church music during his teenage years as an organist in Salzburg. And much of the music is ordinary. But these selections helped earn him a memorial at Mozartplatz.

Mozart's Salzburg Church Music

Audio will be available later today.

The Mischievous Mozart

December 16, 2005 • Meet the rascal beneath the halo. Mozart could write sublime music and still behave like a little boy. It's the Mischievous Mozart, in all of his wisecracking manifestations. From bowling to musical dice, from party games to slapstick opera, a look at Mozart in his element.

The Mischievous Mozart

Audio will be available later today.

Comparing Notes: Mozart and Haydn

December 9, 2005 • The two were contemporaries, friends, colleagues, and mutual admirers. Can you tell if a piece is by Mozart or Haydn? Fred Child tests your Mozart meter by administering a good-natured quiz. And commentator Rob Kapilow has his own ideas of what makes Haydn different from Mozart.

Comparing Notes: Mozart and Haydn

Audio will be available later today.

The Horn Music of Mozart

November 25, 2005 • The music Mozart wrote for his horn-playing friend Joseph Leutgeb is still some of the finest music ever written for horn. We feature some of the highlights: the lyrical Horn Quintet and the Horn Concerto No. 4 from a performance by the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra.

The Horn Music of Mozart

Audio will be available later today.

Mozart and Early America

November 11, 2005 • Continuing our Mozart series, Colonial music experts David Hildebrand and Kate Keller explore the similarities and differences between the music of colonial America and Mozart's European experience.

Mozart and Early America

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Mozart: The Child Prodigy in Salzburg

November 4, 2005 • Renowned Mozart scholar Neal Zaslaw explores the composer's early years. And we hear performances of three Mozart symphonies: Symphony No. 11, Symphony No. 35 and the closing movement from the Symphony, K. 96.

Mozart: The Child Prodigy in Salzburg

Audio will be available later today.