Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Rare Portrait of Mozart at 13 Could Bring $1M

Christie's to auction the 1770 painting this month

(Newser) - A 1770 portrait of a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be sold at auction this month, and Christie's has set a guide price of as much as $1.3 million. The Austrian composer sat for the portrait while traveling in Italy with his father when he was 13, CNN...

These Wine Grapes Listened to Mozart, to Their Benefit

Inside an interesting experiment in Italy

(Newser) - A taste of black cherry, leather, and just a hint of G minor? In the hills of Montalcino in Tuscany, winemaker Giancarlo Cignozzi has, for more than a decade, been playing Mozart 24 hours a day to a section of Sangiovese grapes growing in his vineyard, reports CBS News . At...

Did Darkness Kill Mozart? Researchers Speculate He Was Low on Vitamin D
 Did Darkness Kill Mozart? 
in case you missed it
Jul 9, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

Did Darkness Kill Mozart?

And we mean that literally

(Newser) - If Mozart would've just gotten outside a little more, he might have lived longer. Researchers say added exposure to sunlight would have raised the composer's vitamin D level—an important vitamin in fighting off infection, reports LiveScience . Mozart died of an unknown illness in 1791 at age 35....

3 Dead Guys We Just Can't Leave Alone

Their causes of death still puzzle researchers

(Newser) - These folks have been dead for centuries—and yet we still won’t leave them alone. Discover presents a list of celebs whose mysterious deaths keep us snooping:
  • Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1961, researchers found a lot of arsenic in the emperor’s hair, prompting speculation that he was poinsoned. Two
...

Hey, Mom: You May as Well Listen to Led Zeppelin

(Newser) - It seems listening to Mozart just doesn't do what many hopeful mothers thought it would: Make their babies more intelligent. University of Vienna researchers now present quite definite results on the so-called "Mozart effect" in the US journal Intelligence. Their findings suggest no evidence for specific cognitive enhancements from...

Tunes Help the Hand That Operates on You
 Tunes Help the Hand 
 That Operates on You 
A LITTLE OPERATING MUSIC
Dec 7, 2009 2:00 PM CST

Tunes Help the Hand That Operates on You

Soothing classical sounds improve accuracy, doctor says

(Newser) - Just like on TV, real surgeons listen to music in the operating room—and it may make them better sawbones. Research by a Massachusetts doc suggests that some soothing Mozart improves accuracy when a surgeon repeats a surgical task. Silence ain’t bad, either—but hearing German folk music issue...

'Trailblazing' Science Papers Posted Online

Ben Franklin's famous kite-key experiment galvanizes the Web

(Newser) - Britain's Royal Society is posting some of the key scientific moments in human history on the Web. Handwritten accounts include reports by Sir Isaac Newton and Benjamin Franklin, who details his 1752 experiment with a key, a kite and lightning. One of the posted studies, to determine if 8-year-old Wolfgang...

Strep Throat Likely Killed Mozart

'Minor epidemic' hit Vienna

(Newser) - Some have speculated Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died of eating undercooked pork; others have said he was poisoned. Now researchers believe he may have died of strep throat, Reuters reports. There was a “minor epidemic” of strep in Vienna when Mozart died, and findings suggest “Mozart was one of...

Newfound Mozart Works Written in Sister's Book

(Newser) - Two pieces by a 7- or 8-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went undiscovered for more than a century because they were written in his father Leopold’s hand, the New York Times reports. Austrian researchers have disclosed new details about the works after announcing the finding in July: The music consists...

2 New Mozart Pieces Found

Two piano pieces surface in Austria

(Newser) - Two pieces of music found in the vaults of the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, Austria, have been confirmed as the work of Mozart himself, the BBC reports. The compositions are for solo piano, but other details are being kept under wraps until a formal announcement next month, said a...

'Beckham of Classical Music' Is Hit on Charts, With Ladies

David Garrett loves Metallica, sets world records

(Newser) - He covers Michael Jackson songs, and considers Mozart and Metallica equally influential—David Garrett is not your average classically trained violinist, but perhaps that’s why his self-titled debut has sat atop the classical crossover charts for three weeks. The German-born 28-year-old—who modeled on the side during his time...

Austria Scraps Plans to Make von Trapp Villa a Tourist Trap

City blocks plans to turn Salzburg villa into a hotel

(Newser) - Fans of The Sound of the Music won't be able to stay at the von Trapp family villa in Austria now that authorities have blocked a plan to turn the villa into a hotel. An astonishing 40% of overnight stays in Salzburg are booked by Sound of Music fans. But...

New Mozart Score Surfaces in France

Melodic sketch was part of a collection given to a Nantes library in early 1800s

(Newser) - A single-page musical score located in a French library has been confirmed as a Mozart original, the Telegraph reports. “Mozart's handwriting is clearly identifiable,” an expert said. “There's no doubt that this is an original piece handwritten by Mozart.” The notation is for a melody only,...

Mozart Helps Snap Saudi Taboos

Mixed-gender concert signals opening to outside world

(Newser) - Mozart hasn't challenged cultural taboos for more than 200 years, but last night he caused quite a stir in Saudi Arabia. A German-based quartet gave the nation its first public classical concert where men were allowed to hear Mozart and sit next to, gasp, women. "The concert is a...

Heal Me, Amadeus!
 Heal Me, Amadeus! 
Mar 18, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Heal Me, Amadeus!

Docs credit "Mozart effect" with improving epilepsy

(Newser) - A British patient's epilepsy showed remarkable improvement after he started listening to 45 minutes of Mozart daily, the Independent reports. And while research is still sparse on the music's effect on epilepsy, some doctors speculate that his complex melodies stimulate the brain in a way other composers' works don't. "...

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