Speaking of accomplishments that transform the universe—
The musical genius of Mozart is legendary . . . astonishing . . . breathtaking.
When creating his music, Mozart never wrote rough drafts that he later polished to perfection. All who observed him at work agree that he could sit down and dash off a musical composition, in its final form, as easily as we might sit down and dash off a grocery list.
He was able to do this because he sometimes conceived an entire movement of a symphony in one single creative thought. Like a beautiful orchid springing into full bloom all at once, in the twinkling of an eye, the whole movement came to him as a unity of experience “in one magnificent moment of musical meaning.”
We all have experienced magnificent moments, though probably to a lesser degree than this, and philosopher Frederick Ferré calls such experiences “Mozartian moments.” These moments have an intrinsic value in themselves; they glow, as Ferré says, with their own worth. When they come to us, in their flashes of momentary splendor, we know truly that our “cups runneth over.”
Although they can aspire to intense elevation, Mozartian moments are grounded in the body, for they come charged with deep feeling, and are made possible by the human brain which, as Ferré reminds us, is “the most complex system in the known universe.”
Mozartian moments are integrative—not only do contrasting elements come together, but they are held together in a momentary embrace revealing aesthetic richness and intensity of experience: a unity of diversity, a unity of contrasts. The greater the contrast, the more the intensity.
They are adventures of novelty, revealing exciting new vistas, or breakthrough insights, evoking feelings of freshness, zest, and vitality.
Mozartian moments are among our highest experiences of beauty, and thus intensely kalogenic.1 Their beauty sparkles. They come “trailing clouds of glory” and are part of what make us unique as humans.
And so in conclusion, I make this wish: may your Mozartian moments be many, and may there be one that stands out above all. And may that one be an adventure of the spirit, of such breathtaking beauty that it transforms the universe!
Note
!. Frederick Ferré acquaints us with a beautiful idea that he names with a beautiful word: kalogenesis. “Kalós” is the Greek word for “beauty” and “genesis” of course refers to “generating” or “bringing into existence.” And so kalogenesis means the creation or coming to be of beauty. The adjectival form of this word is “kalogenic.”
HyC