Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Nothing too serious...



Things have been a bit serious at the Classictic blog of late. Let’s have some fun. Pop star Michael Jackson has recently died. (OK, this is not yet the fun part). Michael has been compared by many to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Equally many are really bothered by these comparisons. I find it funny and will add my observations to the fray. Let’s call them M&M for brevity (Michael & Mozart of course).

So, what did they have in common? They both had pushy parents and talented siblings (sibling in Mozart’s case). I am pretty sure, however, that Nannerl never exposed her breast at a football game – so there are differences as well to note. They both had prodigious noses (Michael took care of that problem - not an option in Mozart’s day). They both loved elegant clothing, wore some pretty wild outfits and I suspect they both wore wigs, at least on occasion. Mozart was described by a contemporary as being ‘small, thin and pale’. I hope you will forgive me when I say that this also describes Michael in his later years. M&M also shared in common a certain lack of financial prowess. And, (surprise!) both M&M were dancers; although Mozart might not have been doing the Moonwalk – he started out often on stage as a dancer and was very good at it, apparently. Noting again a final difference between the two let’s look at their funerals; for Mozart a pauper’s grave and a golden casket for Michael (honestly, whose idea was that anyway?).

Both Michael Jackson and W.A. Mozart were amazing child prodigies, stunning their worlds with music and theatric innovations. Each broke existing barriers with originality and great talent and both sadly died at a young age. Michael with ‘Thriller’ ushered in the age of MTV and, as a child of the 80’s, I will be forever grateful to him for that alone. Mozart was/is just plain thrilling. Michael was archetypal of 80’s pop-rock as Mozart is the archetypal example of the classical music era. Composers have been studying his scores since Beethoven and Mozart has endured for over 200 years as one of our best-loved composers. We will have to wait and see what Michael’s legacy will be, but certainly he will have a place in music history. At Classictic we do not have any concerts of Michael Jackson on offer – he is yet to be made ‘Classic’ - but check out these great Mozart programs and try to imagine ‘Wolfie’ doing the Moonwalk.