rock me, amadeus.

One of my all time favorite pieces of music:

Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175.

Mozart was seventeen when he wrote this concerto, and it remained one of his favorite concertos, played by himself until his the year of his death.

I can see why: the piece is pure musical joy.

When I was fifteen and sixteen, I played the first movement of his Piano Concert No. 23 in A Major, K. 488, in competition and recitals.

Even though I haven't played piano since highschool, Mozart remains one of my all time favorite composers to listen to, and play (the others being, rather predictably: Bach on the Baroque end of things, and Beethovan on the other side of Classical Romanticism).

While many people think Mozart is facile to play and not as technically demanding as perhaps a Romantic composer; I disagree. There is a certain control and clarity of technique one must possess in order to play his works with any grace or lyricism. There is hardly any pedal work--and if there is, it must be used judiciously--to muddy and blur potential mistakes.

Like I said: Piano Concerto #5 is sheer joy. Listen to it, and see what I mean.