Customer Reviews

Mozart for your Mind

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The two works on this CD that are most known are The Magic Flute Overture, which is filled with brilliance from measure one to the end, and the opening piece to the movie Amadeus, the G Minor Symphony. These two pieces are superb but just because they are more known, doesn't mean they are better than the rest of the works on this CD.
The Sonata in D Major for two pianos is incredibly brilliant. The first piano holds the main melody while the second piano mimicks it, and then a huge crescendo and BOOM! It is all over the place! (My father and I are both Pianists, and we both specialize in Mozart piano concertos and sonatas.) This piece is wonderful to listen to, and I plan to learn it. The three piano concertos are also spectacular and the Jupiter Finale is superb. There isn't a piece on this CD I can honestly say is even close to okay, they are all exceptionally good. I suggest buying this CD to add to your mozart collection.

"You'll come for the Magic Flute Overture -- you'll stay for some of the other pieces." This CD, despite its "all-star" selection of repertoire, is not the favorite among my growing Mozart collection. Nevertheless, it still holds a reasonably high position among my CD playlist. High enough that I can put it on as background music when I'm working, but I cannot stand to listen to the whole thing when my mind wants to concentrate more on the music.

Blasphemy, you say? Well, I enjoyed all the tracks equally at first, but as I collected more Mozart CDs and became more acquainted with his style, some of the tracks on this album grew weary from repeated playing. The movements from the Two-Piano Sonata, the Haffner Symphony, the Wind Serenade, and the "other" G minor Symphony (track 7) were the first to start grating on my ears. These are perhaps the "bottom of the barrel" on the CD -- melodic tracks that serve as a good introduction to Mozart's style, but are certainly not his greatest works. However, most of the other tracks are solid material that you can listen to again and again. The Magic Flute Overture (which I mentioned earlier) is the star selection of this album; it's a true masterpiece which benefits from a spirited performance. The selections from the Piano Concertos are also my personal favorites, and no-one can resist the triumphant Finale from the Jupiter Symphony.

But is it really "for your mind"? Well, if you think that you can gain several IQ points (or a few more A's on your report card) by simply listening to this CD, think again. Mozart won't make you smarter. Hard work and study will. Think of this CD as a "study aid" -- you can put it on while you're working, and the pleasant effect of the music will improve the efficiency of your thought processes. And of course, you'll become more musically knowledgable at the same time!

Highly recommended for beginning Mozart enthusiasts, and fans of classical music in general.

For some reason I got confused with "Mozart Makes You Smarter" and "Mozart for Your Mind". I actually condemned customers for giving "Mozart Makes You Smarter" a crummy score when I reviewed it, while the whole time I was thinking of the CD that I truely bought, "Mozart For Your Mind". "Mozart For Your Mind" has an excellent selection of works by this eighteenth-century genius, and I was never bored. On the other hand, I think I would of been greatly dissapointed if I had listened to the CD I was wrongfully praising. Almost all of the tracks on there are slow and tranquil. One review mentioned that the "Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos", which supposedly helped a couple people to do well on a test, wasn't on "Mozart Makes You Smarter". But it is included on "Mozart For your Mind", so I strongly recommend it. Not only for the sonata for two pianos, but the other concertos, symphonies, and chamber music as well. It is truely my favorite.

I absolutely loved this cd. It is a wonderful collection of songs, most of them new to me. I have to say that without a doubt track number 5 is the hands down best of all of them. The clarity of these pieces is astounding. I highly reccommend it.

I started listening to this when I had to cram for an exam the other day. I couldn't stop listening to it, and when it came time for the test, I wish my professor could have let me listen to it while I was taking the test!
All the pieces are upbeat, while at the same time not distracting.

In Mozart for Your Mind, the best of Mozart's interpreters, giants such as Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, Mitsuko Uchida and Jeffrey Tate, and John Eliot Gardener and the English Baroque Soloists, create a fiery and spirited playlist of some of Mozart's most exciting contributions to the classical repertoire. While you may be familiar with some of the pieces, there are some surprises here that will only help you cement a love, respect, and admiration for the genius that was Mozart.

Great audio CD. Use it in the classroom while students are doing seatwork! Students now ask for it!!

I now have acquired a few of the CDs from Philips's "set your life to music series," and I like all of them. The music in this one is much faster paced than any of the others I have acquired so far, though. I think that whence most people think of classical music, this is exactly the sort of music they imagine.

I would not recommend it late in the evening or whence trying to concentrate on a difficult book or task or whence trying to hold a conversation as it is, in my opinion, too loud and too complex in structure and form to be conducive to such things.

On the other hand, it is perfect for getting your pulse going whilst doing something physical that you may wish to hurry through, especially chores such as folding the laundry or washing the dishes which are necessary but boring as heck. Who is to say that Mozart would have minded anyone using this music to help speed along such dreary and mundane tasks?

The music certainly seems reflective of the precise type of personality Mozart was said to have had, and in my mind's eye I see the actor from the film "Amadeus" as I listen to this CD. I bet a lot of people have fun "conducting" the air with a pencil or some such thing whilst listening to this CD. Overall, it is a nice CD that I think most folks will enjoy.

I play this during our preschool work stations - when they need to be quiet and focused. I have played many other types of music and they seem to enjoy this the most. I do not know how to quantify the results i.e., makes them smarter - they are a pretty smart group to begin with!

I use this CD when I need to complete really challenging tasks such as completing manuscripts for scientific journals. Not only does it help me concentrate but I'm energized to the point that I can work longer.