Customer Reviews

Biography - Mozart (A&E DVD Archives)

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Born into a family surrounded by music, Mozart was like many of today prodiges, with one exception... he excelled at what he did inspite of his father's ruthless treatment and pursued music because he truly felt it with his soul. Beautiful footage, historically accurate and filled with the wonderful splendor of Mozart's music, this video brings you in touch with the very soul that Mozart put into his music. Starting with his very first piano sonata at the age of six, which made his father realize his child's genius, to the funeral piece he was working on at the time of his death, we see a man with a burning soul to express his feelings and thoughts through his music. A genius tortured by emotional unrest, yet married to a very beautiful and loving wife, Mozart shows us that the dynamics of genius are truly unique to the genius himself and can only be expressed in the most unique of fashions, in his case his music. This production is appropriate in it's coverage, length of time and is filled with the thoughts of todays most celebrated pianists, violinists and conductors, all of whom share the same passion for Mozart's music as for no other master musician since his days.

I teach music 4-6 and made a study sheet to go along with this DVD. Wow! I could not believe how my students responded. There was much discussion after each session of the DVD. My students are now using the study sheet to write their own report on this composer. This was wonderful!

This is an informative, interesting and enlightening documetary, biographical story of Mozart. It details his life, passion for music, from three years old onward, the internal family struggles he experienced with his controlling father, Leopold, and the financial incentives that pushed his father to push Wolfgang A. Mozart. The financial challenges that (Wolfgang) Mozart had, and his freelance music career are expolored, as well as his loves, sicknesses and the mysterious paid request for a requeim that Mozart was convinced was his own, as he became sick and died at the age of 36.

There are many facts, details, opinions and interpretations in this documentary. It is a great evening's entertainment, and can be used for children and teens grades 5 and up. It is made for adults, but teachers can use it in class as well. I would recommend it for home use/purchase, and for the classroom.

If you saw the 1980s movie Amadeus, this provides clarifying details and cuts through any Hollywood embellishments. At the same time, it will help you tie together the fact and fiction that are in the Amadeus film.