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Comment by asdadd | Hacker News Reader

I don't get the fuzz about Mozart. The only thing he definitely proofs is that if we had a great and free education system for ALL kids (not only for the "privileged") he would be just one among thousands of geniuses...

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No, his case proves nothing of this sort. His father had the same thoughts, and when he quarreled with his son and separated from him, he requested his daughter to "lend" him her son, so that he could give him the same education as Wolfgang's and have another child prodigy [1,2]. He failed miserably...

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Anna_Mozart#Leopold's_...

[2] Solomon's biography

Then again, the portion of population able to learn to compose (and read write or do math) is much higher now then it used to be.

We are getting way more skilled composers and musicians then used to be norm. And more skilled writers too. These people are fighting for light in super crowded market - crowded because too many people are capable.

The population has increased and the economy is at an all time high. Shouldn’t we expect more talented artists?

We have more talented artists then we are willing to pay. Had we decided to pay more for art, there would be more of them. I am pretty sure about that, because currently many skilled talented people drop out of art to do stuff that earns money.

Also, afaik, contemporary youth is graduating into harder economy then we used to. They have more school debt (schools are more expensive and more of them do them) and healthcare is also more expensive.

The "do the passion money will come" generation belongs to the past.

Have you actually read the Wiki link you posted? His father was a Jesuit. And how many 'ordinary' people had oil paintings of the whole family at this time??

He was privileged in the sense of being born into a musical family who recognised and encouraged his prodigy at a young age, but they were by no means part of the aristocracy. Out of curiosity which composers do you see worth of 'fuzz' ?

While Mozart's family was not of the aristocracy, they were of the bourgeoisie, which at the time indeed was a very small part of society – the great majority of Austrians in the 18th century were peasants. I think it is fair to consider his upbringing quite a privileged one.

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