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A wave of Mozart's music will ripple across the planet on Friday to mark the 250th birthday of the composer who bequeathed to the world an immeasurable wealth of beautiful melodies.
From the snowy Austrian Alps to the stone corridors of the Forbidden City, the world will celebrate the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on January 27, 1756.
Although he was to live but 35 short years, Mozart composed such enduring, uplifting music that more than two centuries later he remains perhaps the most popular classical musician of all time.
Some of the key events in the world's biggest birthday party are being filmed as part a mammoth television project dubbed 24hours Mozart to be broadcast to 25 countries throughout the day from Vienna.
Events are planned around the globe all year long culminating with the Festival of Salzburg from July 24 to August 31 when 22 of Mozart's works will be presented.
But here is a selection of some of the concerts timed to coincide with Mozart's birthday on Friday:
AUSTRIA
Salzburg: All eyes will be on the composer's home town. A day of music on the streets of the city will start at 1000 GMT with a concert at the Mozarteum after a speech by its head Nikolaus Harnoncourt. A special exhibition "Viva Mozart" is also to be inaugurated.
In the evening Ricardo Muti will conduct a special Mozart concert given by the Wiener Philharmoniker.
Austria, current head of the revolving EU presidency, has also invited European leaders to take part in a day of discussions on Europe's identity crisis called "The Sounds of Europe."
Vienna: The renovated house where Mozart once lived and composed "The Marriage of Figaro" will be inaugurated as a museum watched by a crowd of tourists.
The Opera "Idomenee" will be staged in the newly-restored Theater-an-der-Wien, directed by Willy Decker with Niel Shicoff and Angelika Kirchschlager in the leading roles.
The Vienna Boys Choir will give a special concert in the Stephansdom.
AUSTRALIA
Sydney: At dusk, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will strike up "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" from a barge moored in Sydney's famous harbour.
BRITAIN
London: Three Mozart concerts are planned at the Barbican including a piano recital by Llyr Williams, and concert by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra Ensemble. All three are sold out.
The British Library is holding two days of chamber music concerts and conferences on January 29 and 30 under the title "Mozart Now and Then.
CHINA
Beijing: A Mozart concert will be held on Thursday at the People's Liberation Army Opera House while Austrian musicians will be brought in to perform in the capital, as well as Shanghai and Hangzhou through to October.
On Friday piano phenomenon Lang Lang will give a performance of the Piano Concerto no. 24 in the Forbidden City Concert Hall.
Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a number of concerts in Mozart's honour beginning with "Forever! Mozart" on February 9, featuring three of the composer's masterpieces.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague: The Theatre of the Estates will offer a gala evening including the "Don Giovanni" overture, and Symphony no 38 also dubbed the Prague Symphony as it premiered in the city on January 19, 1787, under Mozart's baton.
FRANCE
Paris: A radical new production of "Don Giovanni", directed under great secrecy by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, is set to open. It marks Haneke's first foray into the world of opera.
GERMANY
Berlin: A gala evening at the country's foremost opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden will be dedicated to Mozart's life, directed by Daniel Barenboim, with violinist Nikolaj Znaider, baritone Thomas Quasthoff and soprano Sylvia Schwartz.
Munich: The Bavarian State Opera, where Mozart wrote "Idomenee" in 1781, will launch a two-week celebration staging six of his operas.
ITALY
Rome: The Italian capital's oldest musical hall, l'Oratorio Gonfalone di Roma, will perform an unusual concert using instruments made of glass and crystal.
JAPAN
Tokyo: Mozart tribute concerts are planned throughout Japan, mainly in Tokyo. The Nippon Mozart Kyokai (Japan Mozart Society) will hold a concert titled "Ensemble Amadeus Metropolitan" with internationally renowned musicians. Among them, Japanese flute player Yumiko Sakuma, and harpist Naoko Yoshino.
"Flute and Harp Concerto C major, K.V.299" will be performed at 08:00 pm, the time of Mozart's birth.
THAILAND
Bangkok: Thai music schools wrap up a series of nine free Mozart concerts on Friday, at Bangkok's new luxury mall Siam Paragon.
UNITED STATES
New York: The Metropolitan Opera is staging three revivals of the composers works during the season: "Cosi Fan Tutte," "The Marriage of Figaro," and "The Magic Flute." Friday night will see a performance of "The Magic Flute".
Centrepiece of celebrations at Carnegie Hall will be Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berliner Philharmonic in a special all-Mozart programme.
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AFPEntertainment-music-Mozart
AFP 251222 GMT 01 06
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