Happy 250th, Wolfgang!

Today is the 250th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birth, and his home-towns are having a par-taaaay! Random Mozart-inspired memories:

- I gave my first school report on Mozart when I was 6 years old (in first grade), using the plaster bust of Mozart we kept on the piano at home as a prop.

- I lived and studied in Salzburg (where Mozart was born) for a semester my senior year in high school; my music history teacher there got us special access to his birthhouse, and I've actually played on the little spinnet he got as a present from Marie Antoinette.

- Ingmar Bergman's film version of The Magic Flute was one of my favorite movies as a child.

- I think the Prague Symphony is one of the most beautiful pieces in the world.

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Wolfie.