Mariana Cirne claims, about Mozart, that "His music is lacking in emotion." I mulled why she might react that way to his music, and thought I would share my reaction. There is a sense in which music from the Classical Period is not as overtly emotional as music from the Romantic era, and that may be what Mariana is reacting to. The idea that art might properly depict a personal sturm und drang (do I have that right, Walter?) is one that came about during the Romantic Era and would have probably been foreign to the classical mind set. But in no way does that preclude strong feeling, which Mozart is capable of stimulating in me. But the listener needs to approach this music in a different way than he or she would, say, a Mahler symphony- I'm just not sure I can articulate how. I've sometimes regarded Mozart as the musical embodiment of Robert Frost's famous dictum that "a poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." My recommendation for Mariana would be to listen to some of Mozart's music in a live performance. I've certainly had the experience of reacting to music with which I've had at least some degree of familiarity in a totally different light once I'd heard it live. As for emotion, well if you can listen to a good, live performance of the Requiem without a sense of terror, then perhaps this music is not for you. Try the great Mass is C Minor for a a work full of unsettling tension- about as close as the Classical period gets to being angst-ridden. While Don Giovanni is perhaps deservedly call "the greatest opera", The Magic Flute, with a queen who makes me want to run for cover, would get my seal of approval as Mozart's greatest opera. Aficionado-wannabe of chamber music that I am, I cannot pass up the opportunity to recommend his Clarinet Quintet in A Major. At least one of his string quintets- I think it's in a minor key- should also challenge anyone who claims Mozart does not inspire emotion. Larry