Mozart's Birthday

I didn't realize this was the day Mozart was born. I remember when I was first introduced formally to his music. It was my first semester of college; I was 36 and uncertain about being in college among so many younger people. I took a music appreciation class and one of the pieces we listened to was Eine Kliene Nachtmusik. It remains one of my favorites, a melody to lighten any heart.

I  listened to this piece when I was a child,too but didn't realize what it was or who Mozart was. My parents had many classical recordings given to them

when my grandparents moved back to New Orleans. They gave my parents many things when they broke up housekeeping to go live with their youngest son: books, encyclopedias, furniture, dishes, and a record player and many albums in the old, heavy, multi-disc cases that were probably recordings from the 30's and 40's. We listened to them all, indiscriminately flipping discs and choosing ones we thought were best for dancing.

And did we dance! We would put on the record and glide around the dining room or big entrance hall, swooping our imaginary regal skirts, curtsying and bowing. It was a grand time on rainy or snowy afternoons; we'd crank it up as loud as Mom would allow and play record after record. One of our favorites, I remember was a 45 with a tune called Tango Militaire--now that was one we could really cut up to! I can still remember the beginning of that piece, and now I can hear it again, courtesy of YouTube, and so can you!

I wonder, do children still play-act like we did? Do they play songs and pretend to be grand ladies and gentlemen and swing around the house in lively marches and moves? Or has the earplug replaced the record player completely, and watching replaced doing?

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