Expert: David Froom - 1/21/2006

Question
Everyone has heard that Mozart was the greatest composer of all time.  Einstein once said that Mozart's music seems to always have existed, as if he just pulled these masterpieces from the heavens.  I agree, having listened to a wide variety of classical composers.  What is the consensus in musical academia of this opinion of mine?  How likely is it that Mozart will maintain this position of "The Greatest Musical Genius" throughout history?  Any chance he'll ever be topped?  Can such a man with such superhuman musical intuition and skill ever grace our planet again?

Answer
Jared,
In academia, Mozart is held in high regard.  People who study and live with music are not really concerned with trying to determine who is "best" or "greatest."  We listen to and study great music from all time periods.  It is clear that Mozart holds a special place, for a variety of reasons.

What I find most interesting is how Mozart's childhood music is rather ordinary -- not really distinguishable from the contemporary composers.  And, as he got into his teens, how he started writing masterpieces with more and more frequency.  It is fascinating to me that even Mozart needed 10-15 years of composing to become great (granted, he started at 5).

There is a lot of wonderful music out there.  Keep exploring.

Happy listening,
David Froom