Young Mozart: What is a 'Genius'?

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018, Gil Harel, PhD kicked off the first in his new Mozart lecture series.

Regarded as perhaps the ultimate "Wunderkind" (child genius), Mozart's younger years were filled with endless tours as he played for monarchs, popes, and other members of the powerful elite. During this program we will consider anecdotes and testimonials from those who met and wrote about the young prodigy, and we will listen to works that date to before his 20th birthday. After evaluating the evidence, the term "genius" will be considered in depth.

About the Presenter
Gil Harel (PhD, Brandeis University) is a musicologist and music theorist whose primary research focuses on the choral music of J.S. Bach. In addition to baroque vocal music, his musical interests include styles ranging from jazz to popular music, as well as opera, renaissance music, and contemporary genres. In addition to serving on the faculty at Baruch College in New York City, Gil has lectured at Brandeis University and has taught at the Allegro Music School in Natick, Massachusetts. In 2014, he was appointed Assistant Director of the Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College. He is also an experienced jazz pianist and tenor vocalist who has performed with various groups in the New York/New England area.

[cunite]

Good to have this kind of lectures on great master geniuses. Next time would love to hear about Tchaikovsky's ballet music analysis😘

[AlwaysHopeful]

Nice post, thank you. Audio quality was iffy.

[karlakor]

Dr. Harel is incorrect when he states that only two of Mozart's symphonies are in minor keys. He overlooks the one in a minor, composed when Mozart was twelve years old and was long thought lost.

[iamstillthinking]

Good lecture. But blasphemous to take such little care with respect to the audio recording, especially considering that this is a music lecture.

[vienna_]

I believe the first point to understanding Mozarts genius is to understand his Partimento studies and actually speaking his language. Then his rock solid understanding of form. Once we understand these two aspects of his musical training then the Miserere copy isn't quite as amazing as one might think. Still impressive nonetheless.

[corvanha]

not a very tasteful presentation and very bad sound, harsh voice. quite boring