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Is Mozart underrated?

I hear from a lot of classical music snobs, usually Wagner fans, that Mozart isn't that impressive. How could anyone not be utterly moved and astounded by this? It's some of the most beautiful and expressive music I've ever heard, I think it could only have sprung from the mind of a demigod.

Like Shakespeare, Mozart was a once-in-a-thousand-years genius.

[video="youtube;fRgxY8VUOz8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRgxY8VUOz8[/video]
I wouldn't say so- hell, if anything he's probably a little overrated, seeing as a fair chunk of the population could probably only name him or Beethoven as composers.
I think that one of the main reasons you'll find as to why Mozart is not very highly rated a lot in classical music 'circles' is because a lot of his music (mainly the symphonies) have a tendency of being relatively fast-paced, short(ish) and 'glammy' more than anything. This obviously contrasts a huge amount with some composers whose oeuvre isn't as large, but contains massive works that (arguably) contain a lot more emotion and exploration of ideas - Wagner's Ring Cycle, for example.

Obviously, Mozart, has his own opus moments, such as the Requiem, but the majority of people know Mozart as a child prodigy who churned out fancy work after work that showed mainly the speed of his creative output.
(edited 10 years ago)

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