Two-and-a-half centuries after his birth in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart is being honored by broadcasters around the world. To mark the anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus’ birth on Jan. 27, 1756, the European Broadcasting Union helped organized “24hours Mozart,” a full day of live performances of the composer’s work for Jan. 27, 2006.
“24hours Mozart” was co-produced by German production company EuroArts Medien, Austrian public-service broadcaster ORF and Wiener Mozartjahr 2006, the year-long Viennese celebration of Mozart, in association with the EBU, broadcasters ZDF and ARTE in Germany, CCTV in China and NHK in Japan.
For some broadcasters, however, a single day isn’t enough to honor the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Swedish public-service broadcaster Sveriges Radio has launched SR Mozart, an all-Mozart, all-the-time Internet-only radio service. The channel features more than 400 compositions — the shortest is the “Champagne Aria” from the opera “Don Giovanni” and the longest is the “Divertimento in D,” aired in their entirety.
