<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <title></title> </head> <body> Speaking of Mozart for babies.... when each of my kids was five years old, I put on Mozart's "Magic Flute" (as filmed by Bergman) and watched it  through with them from start to finish, telling them the story and what everybody was saying while they were singing. Then they each watched it, over and over again, without any prompting from me, about five hundred times. They also watched Disney cartoons and Betty Boop five hundred times....but also Mozart. It created in both of them a basic appreciation for and love of classical music, which has lasted for the rest of their lives (boy now 22, girl 12). Mozart rocks! Joanna John Lacny wrote: <blockquote type="cite" cite="midE1F2eVP-0002DJ-Fn@elasmtp-junco.atl.sa.earthlink.net"> <pre wrap="">Doug Henwood: </pre> <blockquote type="cite"> <pre wrap="">Yeah, it's one step removed from Mantovani. Perfect for lending a high-toned atmosphere to a boutique or an organic bakery. </pre> </blockquote> <pre wrap=""> I certainly hope you're joking. Having an infant around must make the "Mozart for Babies" craze all the more irritating, but that's no reason to take it out on him. Hell, even though they used Janis Joplin to sell the Mercedes Benz, I wouldn't take it out on her -- and yet I don't think that anyone serious would suggest that Janis Joplin possessed even a fraction of Mozart's talent. "A boutique or an organic bakery," indeed. This is simply no way to treat the creator of "Le nozze di Figaro," the late piano concertos, and the "Jupiter" -- and much else besides. There are a thousand calumnies that still get unfairly heaped on him, not the least of which is that he was not original and added nothing of his own to musical form. Not only does the music itself refute that if you listen to the latter two-thirds of his works in particular (from about K. 299 on) in comparison to any of his contemporaries, but I agree with Maynard Solomon (who has studied the matter) that it is an egregious insult and simply untrue. As the saying goes, had Mozart lived another ten years, he would have invented Beethoven. - - - - - - - - - - John Lacny <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.johnlacny.com">http://www.johnlacny.com</a> Tell no lies, claim no easy victories ___________________________________ <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk">http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk</a> </pre> </blockquote> </body> </html>