and Me

This page is in here so you might find out just who this weirdo is writing the webpage. I used to not be such a devoted Mozart fan. In every sense, I learned to love Mozart only through a slow "conversion."

I was raised in a family where Mozart was never played. My family was unusual in the respect that both my parents enjoyed classical music, but neither were Mozart fans. In fact, my dad never played Mozart because he said his music was "too happy".

So the first time I was able to hear some of Mozart's wonderful music was in the movie "Amadeus". Despite some of the errors and liberties taken by the movie for the sake of drama, I still owe "Amadeus" a great deal for giving me my first taste of Mozart's music.

I was nine when I first saw "Amadeus". I enjoyed the lavish costumes, impressive sets, and the spectacular opera sequences at the time. Strangely enough I was not struck down immediately by the power of Mozart's music. It wasn't until seven years later when a funny little tune came into my head and just wouldn't stop. I hummed it at dinner over and over again. By the fourteenth time my family was ready to throw me out of the room. Then it dawned on me what the tune was, it was the "Turkish March" from The Abduction from the Seralio.

The second piece of music which came to me that same night was the "Lacrymosa" movement in the Requiem. To me, it seems so fit that the "Turkish March" and the "Lacrymosa" I would remember together. They seem to perfectly embody both sides of Mozart's genius: the delightful, charming and playful melodies on one end and the deep, profound, eloquent musical passages on the other.

After remembering the Requiem I went out and bought a CD on the music. At first I jumped from track to track, trying to find the music which was featured exclusively in "Amadeus". The rest seemed unimportant or unmeaningful to me. It was only by the third or fourth listening of the entire Requiem CD that I found out what a masterpiece it was.

I noticed that the same thing repeats itself when I start to listen to a new Mozart piece. At first I think it's "okay", then it becomes "pretty good", then "excellent", then finally "extraordinary". For this reason I was not a "natural" Mozart lover; I had to learn and appreciate Mozart's music with all its amazing richness and complexity gradually. The more I listen to Mozart's music, the more I love it. So I am a self-made "convert" in the truest sense.

Once that "conversion" I have been a dedicated fan ever since. When I first learned to design webpages, Mozart was the first to go up on the web. I felt that Mozart deserved a webpage from me after so many years it took me to "discover" him and that his genius was worth it. I admire him the most out of all the composers and hope this small dedication would make Mozart happy.

You might think I explained it in the last paragraph, but there is something a little more I'd like to add. With all the excellent Mozart webpages out there it would seem superfluous that I add just another one to the list. For this reason I tried to make this Mozart page a little different from the others. I wanted to make this page "user friendly" to anyone wanting to learn more about Mozart and to be welcoming and familiar to any fan of Mozart.

I hoped, through this webpage, Mozart wouldn't remain just a scholar's preoccupation but open to anyone who loved Mozart the way I do. I feel Mozart doesn't belong just to scholars, music professors, historians, or musicians; he is for everyone. For this reason I also decided to start an internet Mozart society so other Mozart fans could meet and discuss his music via e-mail and newsletter. Ever since I started this webpage and TIMS (The Internet Mozart Society) I have been very happy to discover I am not alone in my love. I get new members everyday for TIMS and it's even turning into an international society.

Thank you all for your interest in Mozart and taking the time to visit my website. I greatly appreciate it!