Mozart for Real Gardeners

It is very pleasant to be able to greet you here today, dear fragrant visitor.  I do hope you are well and that you have been enjoying some fresh air and sunshine.

Although I am a real gardener, people often mistake me for a pretended one from time to time, or even a mere household servant.  I have a degree in botany and several years experience in horticulture.

Mr Mozart has never written an opera about me, as far as I know.  I am not an aristocrat.  Nor do I believe I have a relative called Antonio, whether a gardener, a Gardiner, a singer, a drunkard, or a composer known as Mr Salieri, whatever you may have heard to the contrary.

I prefer working in the library garden of Madame Adelaidezone's villa, where I am frequently called upon to tend the roses.  Are you fond of mulching some friable soil with well-rotted horse manure, or do you prefer just to muck about in the muck?  Do you tackle thorny issues on a daily basis, whether in a garden, in a music room, or in politics?

Perhaps you are quite fond of walking around gardens after someone else has done all the work.  I am quite fond of listening to the music of Mr Mozart when I have finished working for the day, so if you lose a pin or anything else outside after dark, please don't ask me to help you to find it.  I need to put my feet up in the evenings and I always go to bed early.

I could never work the hours singers are usually required to work, if they can find any work at all, that is.  There is always something to do in a garden, whereas there is frequently only a small amount of work for a singer to do on a stage, especially when performing in one of the minor roles.

Do you ever admire the exotic potted plants provided around an operatic performer, or the lovely bouquets presented to sopranos quite regularly?  I often help to grow them.

Travels with Mozart

A few words from a well-informed tour guide

My mother and sister are meeting Madame Adelaidezone for luncheon in Paris tomorrow.  They will probably discuss art and music, travel and austerity, prodigals and prodigies of various descriptions, education and health care, and the proper raising of children, just as they do when they are in Adelaide.

My mother's opinions on 21st century education

My sister's opinions about travel and careers

I have promised to be on my very best behaviour here in Adelaide during their absence.  They do not want me to tell you any jokes at all about bottoms, poo, archbishops, emperors or bankers, but you may think it is quite a joke at present if you are seeking work and have been advised to travel in order to gain some sort of employment.  Fortunately for me, itinerant persons and tourists often enjoy my music and clothing style, rather than any later shi(r)t.

Chamber music by a later composer

Looking for work can be quite a strain, as I know from my own experiences.  Mum, Sis and I had our 18th century careers ruined by Dad, who was far more of an embarrassment to the family than my poo jokes.  If your father is the pushy sort, even when not constipated, you'll know what I mean.

Maybe your mum is quite pushy too at times.  Mine even tried to make me eat boiled cabbage, and sometimes gave me sauerkraut and baked beans for dinner.  It gave quite a different meaning to the term wind ensemble at the breakfast table the following morning, I can assure you.

Dad is very irate today.  He can't understand why Australian governments keep giving cash to the parents of untalented children.  To him it is like throwing money down the toilet.  There are so many more useful things upon which to spend money, according to him.  Where is his tax-funded palace?  Where is his tax-funded new horseless motor carriage?  Where are his tax-breaks for employing elderly servants and cutting back on coal?

His most frequent remark these days is:

"The Award Rates agreed by the Musicians' Union of Australia are such a pittance."

I did try to warn him that being a musician is not considered to be a proper job in the 21st century, unless it involves regular appearances on MTV.  If you are trying to pay off a mortgage whilst being primarily employed as a musician in Australia, have you ever been told either to seek a proper job or to tour constantly?

Several musicians of my acquaintances constantly tour, even though they are now well past the official retirement age.  Most of those persons were quite successful performers of rock concertos during the 1970s but sadly they wanted to remain in that line of work after the age of thirty five.

I'm sure you'd like to know more about my tours.   As you may have heard before, I wanted to be a dancer rather than a musician, but I failed the auditions.  I also tried to get a job as a tour guide, but the only people interested in my services were those who paid in snuff boxes rather than cash.  Perhaps snuff boxes would be a better currency in Europe now than the euro, though several former rock musicians have been known to prefer the contents to be somewhat stronger than snuff.

Well, I must pack up and get going.  I'm off to Vienna, where I shall meet Madame Adelaidezone on Saturday with an assortment of other tourists and show them around the place.  We're going to find out if there are more mortgage-paying jobs for musicians in Austria than there are in Australia at present.

Unemployment Austria   |  Unemployment Australia

My gigs usually attract a good crowd, wherever I happen to be, and I don't need to rely on amplification or other gimmicks to receive the praise or critics, concert promoters and audience members.  Now, though, it is time for me to start writing my latest composition:

Passport.
Wig.
Violin.
Underpants.
Smartphone.
Credit cards.
Ear plugs.
Vegemite.
Letters of introduction...

A Climate for Mozart

By a scientifically inclined personage

Do you prefer listening to Mozart when the sun is shining or during a thunder storm?

Do you prefer his music in summer or winter?

Do his compositions always remind you of spring?

As one of the ladies from the Revolutionary Climatological Needlepoint Committee, I often work in association with the Mozarty Party and a wide range of scientific institutions around the globe.  I like listening to Mr Mozart's music in any season, though it must be very difficult to play his tunes whilst wearing mittens.

Redundancy Notices and Redundant Notes

Some career advice from the global campaign manager, Madame Adelaidezone

If you are a professional musician, you will probably have received quite a few redundancy notices during the course of your career, at least a dozen letters informing you that you have failed auditions, and even several hundred slips of paper to say your presence at an audition is not required at all.  This will especially be so if you are not aware of the fact that Mr Mozart never wrote a redundant or superfluous note.

Mozart and Marionettes

A few words from a young supporter

Hello.  Thank you for popping in to see me.  If you like pop music, you may be a personage more interested in puppetry and puppies, rather than poetry and good policies.  Here at the Mozarty Party, we are sure you are not all that interested in puppet governments, but we hope you will ensure you scoop up your puppy's poo from footpaths, beaches and other people's carpets and gardens.

My own dog is only a stuffed toy.  It was once a glove puppet.  I use it as a cushion when I'm travelling in a carriage on my way to a marionette theatre.

If you are a violinist or cellist, have you ever found that others frequently try to pull your strings?  I'm a harpist, though I don't usually harp on about politics.  You are welcome to send me flowers if you admire my playing, as long as there are no strings attached.

The Advocacy of Sound Policies and Actions

If you have the ability to hear at all, how sound are the sounds around you?  Are they distracting?  Are they a type of companionship?  Are they attention-grabbing forms of advocacy?  Are they beautiful reminders of wonderful achievements, and of admirable possibilities?

Even if you cannot hear, how do you ensure your point of view is heard and respected?

Here at the Mozarty Party we are taking our global campaigns into the ears, hearts and minds of everyone, everywhere.  We always advocate sound policies and actions, whether for the benefit of persons with perfect pitch, tone deafness, hardness of hearing, or the profound inability to hear any sounds at all.

We advocate a vibrant and celebratory world for everyone, even persons who are not of sound mind.  Whether you prefer to live out your dreams in a quiet, peaceful manner, or bang a tambourine in a public place, we would be interested in hearing your points of view about sound policies and actions.

The Second Age of Enlightenment

An introduction to a very important topic, by Madame Adelaidezone

Mr Mozart has a very important role to play in the second Age of Enlightenment now that it is slowly gathering pace in the 21st century.  More and more people are becoming aware of the musical limitations of digital recordings, as well as the hideous impositions  upon one's listening pleasure of electroacoustic transducers, woofers, subwoofers, tweeters and some of the most annoying twitterers.

Perhaps the recently increasing sales of vinyl albums in comparison to CDs may be one sign of this, though all recordings of musical sounds, even those offered through iTunes, should be treated as either historical records or little more than advertisements for future live performances or other products.

Australian Harmony Day with Mr Mozart and the Mozarty Party

Today is officially Harmony Day in Australia.  Mr Mozart is keen to raise awareness of harmony far and wide, every day, all around the world, though always within an acceptable range of octaves and decibels.  He would like to know your opinions regarding harmony, in both music and daily life, wherever you may be in the world or the universe, and whatever your musical and political preferences.

A Blog about Musical Discoveries with Mozart

Just a few words from Madame Adelaidezone's anonymous, material, non-ethereal assistant

Hello and thank you for visiting this blog.  My ethereal boss, Madame Adelaidezone, calls The Mozarty Party's digital presence a blog-pamphlet.  She considers herself to be one of the world's most enlightened pamphleteers and bloggers in the 21st century, though sometimes she forgets she no longer inhabits the 18th century.  Perhaps you know that Madame Adelaidezone has become one of Mr Mozart's closest friends and colleagues in eternity, and here in Adelaide.  She is also known as Milady Twaklin, Muse of the World.

This blog is also a digital representation of the good lady's magnificent music room, as well as being the global headquarters of the Mozarty Party itself.  Are you interested in looking at history and examining how it has shaped the world as it is today?  Are you interested in how the arts can inspire interpersonal harmony?

The Brothers Haydn Seek Your Views

Guest opinion

Here at the Mozarty Party we spend a great deal of time examining compositions.  Recently, we have been studying and comparing the rhetorical compositions of Anthony Albanese with the musical compositions of Tomaso Albinoni.

Madame Adelaidezone is especially fond of Mr Albinoni's Oboe concerto no. 2 in D Minor opus 9.

Well, I'm Joe Haydn and I'm here with my brother Mick.  We don't have an Australian brother called Bill, but we do have an Austrian one called Jonnie.

Mick and I have spent a great deal of time investigating the vast output and compositional structures of J.S. Bach and Baroque Obama. 

Some time ago we tried to understand the compositions of a Mr Mandelson and a Mr Mendelssohn, but became rather confused.

Policies and Other Compositions

Here at the Mozarty Party's global headquarters in Adelaide, we are keenly aware that great policies are some of our most important compositions.

Whilst politics is often like the varied quality of musical performances, especially when using the mediocre works of assorted composers, our policies are the beautifully documented accounts of our excellent intentions.

Are you aware of our policies?

Are you familiar with social movements and sonata movements?

We are looking forward very much to receiving your opinions and suggestions, even if you know nothing at all about musical or political genius.

It is always amusing to hear strange ideas, even those nominated for a Grammy.

Global Gatherings

With Mr W.A. Mozart, Madame T. Adelaidezone and an assortment of guests

Make Yourself at Home

With Mr W.A. Mozart

Mozart in Social Media

By W.A. Mozart

Preparations for the Future

Guest commentary

Clearing Up the Global Economy after the Mozarty New Year Enlightenment Party

With Madame Adelaidezone

Happy New Mozarty Year 2012

Well, there are fireworks over the River Torrens to welcome in 2012 in a somewhat noisy manner.

Introductory Mozarty Party Procedures and Proceedings

There are many persons currently gathering here for the festivities of the evening.

The Great Art of our Mozarty Party

Something urgent from the Press and Impress Media Communications Staff

A Mozarty New Year Enlightenment Party

An announcement by an official spokesperson

Revolutionary Bohemian Mozart

The Mozarty Party wishes to provide a tribute to the people of Bohemia, and especially to a gentleman named Václav Havel.

Greatness and Gratitude

A few words from a sometimes noisy guest

International Influences

Guest commentary

Queen Charlotte Invites You

I am honoured to be here today, in Madame Adelaidezone's magnificent music room, to make a very important announcement on behalf of the democratically delightful Mozarty Party.

Mozart F.X.

A special guest presentation

Miraculous Mozart

A few days from now, on Monday 5 December 2011, everyone at the International Training Centre for the Harmonious Interplay of Beauty, Understanding and Magnificence will postpone their usual duties to take part in a special, sublime and very serious ceremony.

War, Debt and Mozart

A financial investigation by Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone, 
with the assistance of Mr Mozart's bank manager, accountant,
financial advisers, public relations team and personal stylist

Mozart, Servants and Musical Duties

An independent opinion by Madame Adelaidezone

Classical and Political Mozart

For your profound enlightenment, by Madame Adelaidezone

We at the Mozarty Party's global campaign headquarters here in Adelaide are very pleased to announce that we have almost completed a manifesto of classically appropriate proportions.  In its finished form, our manifesto is likely to be a well-balanced document, measured to perfection, covering all important issues in harmonious patterns of universally acceptable qualities and sonorities.

If you wish to see local and global political possibilities elevated to their noblest, most perfect and civilized aspect, then do please peruse some of our earlier briefing documents:

March 2011
The Mozarty Party manifesto

April 2011
A presidential address

July 2011
Delightfully in order

August 2011
The campaign continues

September 2011
World enlightenment outlook

September 2011
Enlightened policies

September 2011
In tune with the public

Dancing About with Mr Mozart

By a delighted Madame Adelaidezone

A Mozartian Education

Inscribed by the Mozarty Party's esteemed global campaign manager, 
the learned-but-always-learning Madame Adelaidezone

In Tune with the Public

By the exceedingly hard working and euphonious
Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

Good Parenting - By Mr Mozart's Mother

Guest commentary

If you believe your child is likely to grow up to be a genius, it is best to avoid sending your little one to school.  Teach all children a thing or two about good music.  Take them to visit world leaders.  Invite your own child to join the company of artists, composers, philosophers, scientists and archbishops.  Never allow any child to watch television or eat junk food.

The Campaign Continues

With the globally appropriate Madame Adelaidezone

Political Mozart - By Joseph II

Guest commentary

Mozart for Peace - An Expert Opinion

Guest commentary

A Presidential Address

By the man himself

Guest Blog-Pamphleteer

Guest commentary

Whilst Madame Adelaidezone is away in London, it is my great pleasure to be a guest blog-pamphleteer here at the Mozarty Party headquarters in Madame's magnificent music room.  If you have never met me before, do allow me to say a few words about myself.

Sing a Song of Mozart

A suitable introduction by Madame Adelaidezone,
who received a musical training almost as inadequate as 
that of her rather shy and anonymous, non-ethereal assistant


The only keyboard I have ever attempted to master for professional purposes is the one on which I am typing these words.  I never had the opportunity to learn even one Mozart sonata as a child, nor to sing any of his songs.

Tasting Mozart

Something unsuitable for cannibals, by Madame Adelaidezone

The Mozarty Party Manifesto

A very important announcement by Madame Adelaidezone

The Mozart Family in London

By an antipodean admirer, Madame Adelaidezone

Metaphysical Mozart

By an open-minded Madame Adelaidezone

Mr Mozart's 255th Birthday

A celebration organised by Madame Adelaidezone

Accepting Invitations but not Imitations

By the elegantly sociable Madame Adelaidezone

Ambitiously Mozarty

A few guidelines by the highly successful Madame Adelaidezone

Fictional Mozart

An investigation by the elegant literary salonnière,
Madame Adelaidezone

Our Ethereal President - Mr W.A. Mozart

Something for your edification, by Madame Adelaidezone

Mozarty, Mozartian, Mozart Reviews

By a highly experienced reviewer, Madame Adelaidezone

Nannerl, Wolfie and Snuffy Charlotte

A few words by their mutual friend, Madame Adelaidezone

A Classic Mozarty Tactic

Thoroughly investigated by Madame Adelaidezone

Intriguing Realities

Suitably explored by Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and Librettists - Part Five

A subject to be looked at in greater detail, by Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and Librettists - Part four

More on this very important topic, by Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart in Strasbourg with a Pianoforte

Something tunefully interesting,
as presented by Madame Adelaidezone

Complete Perfection

Something quite expected here, with Madame Adelaidezone

A Major Political Party

An important announcement by a very excited Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and Librettists - Part Three

Presented, as usual, by Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and Librettists - Part Two

A cheerful continuation with Madame Adelaidezone

A Little Rest

for a sleepy and somewhat crotchety Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and Librettists - Part One

This could be the start of something delightfully enlightening,
by Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

Natural Mozart

Explorations by the scientifically-minded Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart and the Volcano

Some ponderings by the naturally inquisitive Madame Adelaidezone

A Few Mozarty Moments

In the company of Madame Adelaidezone

Music, Morals, Manners and Mozart

By Madame Adelaidezone's anonymous, non-ethereal assistant

Avant-garde Mozartians

A daringly provocative opinion by Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

Mozarty History

Historically informed possibilities, with Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart at Christmas

A jolly interesting topic to discuss with other guests,
as introduced by Madame Adelaidezone

The Universality of Mozart

By the suitably global Madame Adelaidezone

Mozart's Music - An Introduction

Provided by Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

Encountering Cherubino

By a non-employer of unruly pageboys, Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

The Adelaide Concerto

By an Adelaidean lady, Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

Mozart Today

By the historically well-informed, transcendental and
space-time appropriate Madame Adelaidezone

The Humanity of Mozart

As explored by Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

How might artistic people best express humanity through their work? Mozart appears to have been a reasonably humane and peaceful person even though he lived through turbulent times.

I am not sure if ideas such as a sense of place, a sense of belonging, a sense of being and a sense of purpose are more of the Enlightenment or Romanticism. They all appear to be cultural themes of modernity nevertheless, though rejecting modern life's more brutal aspects.

What can we learn from Mozart about the future of human cultural achievement?  And how might we match his humanitarian expressiveness?

Becoming Acquainted

Suitable introductions by Madame Adelaidezone, 
with a few words about her anonymous, non-ethereal assistant

For anyone unfamiliar with Mr Mozart and the world of his day, perhaps the Duke and Duchess of Wikipedia will be able to provide an introduction:

Mozart - Wikipedia

If you wish to comment on this blog-pamphlet, dear reader, I will assume that you are familiar with the basics of Mozart's biography, but not necessarily with much of his music, especially if you happen to be my current assistant.

The World in the Time of Mozart

In the opinion of Madame Twaklin Adelaidezone

There are many biographies about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. There are many scholarly articles about his life and work. There are many musicians who bring us the art of Mozart each day. There are probably quite a lot of blogs about Mozart, too. Why, then, is there a need for yet another Mozart offshoot?

If you have seen my Adelaide Zone Twaklin blog-pamphlet recently, you may have discovered why. I want to explore the world not from Mozart's perspective but from the point of view of someone looking afresh at important world events that occurred during his lifetime - ones that still affect us today.

My look at history will also draw upon a knowledge of events and influences that had a direct or indirect impact on Mozart's life, thoughts and creativity. It will also draw on knowledge of the biographies, websites, blogs and music that reflect the influence of Mozart today, and over the past 200 years or so.

I also hope to make a few new discoveries along the way, and improve my own creative expression.  If you can assist, or you have an insightful or entertaining comment to make, or you would just like to say hello in some sort of Mozarty way, your presence in the parlour would be most agreeable.