The 99 Most Essential Mozart Masterpieces

This compilation of puts together 99 tracks, or 10 1/2 hours, of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the best-known composer of the Classical era, and to many, one of the greatest composers ever. What's found here are excerpts from works of every type, from sacred choral music to opera, symphony to sonata, and string quartet to concerto. Many of the selections will be familiar to anyone who has seen the film Amadeus, such as the Requiem excerpts, the Queen of the Night's aria from The Magic Flute, and the opening of the Serenade No. 10 "Gran Partita." But there are some unexpected things that aren't usually found in Mozart compilations of this type. There's the Minuet, K. 1 (written at the age of 6); a spurious Wiegenlied; a Freemason song; and a movement from a sonata for piano duet. There is also quite a variety of lesser known artists, some of whom should be better known and some of whom do extremely well in Mozart's music. There's the tenor Kurt Equiluz, the Salzberg Mozarteum Orchestra, and the New York Philomusica, just to name three. Other artists include the St. Petersburg Soloists, the Vienna Volksoper, Bruno Zwicker and Rosel Molzer; the Endres Quartet; Walter Klien; the Capella Istropolitana; and more. The 99 Most Essential Mozart Masterpieces might provide some interesting moments for those who know something about the composer, and it will definitely serve as a budget-priced introduction to Mozart's music for more general consumers.