January happens to be the month in which some of my all-time favorite people are born. Apart from my oldest kid (6th), my two nephews (7th & 13th), Kathy M. (the -- um whatever last Friday was), and Franklin (sometime this week), today happens to be the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (Now a few dozen of you are smacking your foreheads, thinking "That explains the Google graphic!")
What does Mozart have to do with knitting?
Nothing really. We don't have any evidence that Mozart knitted, no remnants of a lace pattern on the back of a foolscap score, no crackled oil paintings showing Wolfie with a pair or two of Addi Turbos and some sock yarn. But in a weird way, Mozart's music touches a part of me that is also touched by great knitting.
In many respects, this world sucks. Human beings can be so needlessly cruel, so barbaric, delighting in torturing each other (physically and emotionally). When one encounters "the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one's culture but within oneself,"1 it's a wonder anybody can get out of bed in the morning. But occasionally I catch a glimpse of something beautiful, something breathtakingly lovely that a human being has created: a sonnet, a glorious piece of fair isle, the face in a Renoir painting, a striking piece of architecture, and yes, an exquisite piece of music (or several hundred exquisite pieces of music, in Mozart's case).
Listen to Sonata in C (so simple a beginning piano student could play it), or Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which you've heard a million times before but is still a wonderful piece of music, or hum "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," for Christ's sake, and be glad that every thousand years or so, somebody is born on this earth with such a profound capacity for creating the beautiful.
1to quote some guy named Barry Lopez.
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Musically, I connect Fair Isle with Bach. All those little stitches, and all those little notes. Both greater than the sum of their parts.
I like Herr Mozart too.
And that frizzy-haired dude that was in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
Yes, the symmetry and theme/variation aspects, too. We are not into force-feeding highbrow culture down our tots' throats but they were given some kid-friendly recordings of Mozart and some other classical composers and they have always responded amazingly well to them. Music soothes the savage beast and all that.
Have you tried those mozart chocolates with marzipan inside? MMmmm, mmmm. No idea where you get them. They're the sort of thing that turns up in obscure duty free shops.
I LOVE that previous post about dyeing. Have you seen project spectrum? There's a link on my blog. Looks like it could be something you'd enjoy too.
Little Lixie -- Mozartkugeln!
When I was in Austria eons ago, I devoured those suckers. I bet I could find them on-line...good present for Valentine's Day. Ostensibly for husband for actually for me.
Don't worry -- there will be more dyeing coming up. Especially since I broke down and ordered some Gaywool dyes the other day. Thanks for reading!
Hey, sweets, I'm back from my wild Kath and Selma weekend--missed you very much!
I think "Twinkle, Twinkle" is not Herr Mozart but Papa Haydn. I adore Mozart and my favoritest opera is Die Zauberflote.
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