Talk:Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Comments

Composers Project Assessment of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 2008-11-13

This is an assessment of article Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by a member of the Composers project, according to its assessment criteria. This review was done by Magicpiano.

If an article is well-cited, the reviewer is assuming that the article reflects reasonably current scholarship, and deficiencies in the historical record that are documented in a particular area will be appropriately scored. If insufficient inline citations are present, the reviewer will assume that deficiencies in that area may be cured, and that area may be scored down.

Adherence to overall Wikipedia standards (WP:MOS, WP:WIAGA, WP:WIAFA) are the reviewer's opinion, and are not a substitute for the Wikipedia's processes for awarding Good Article or Featured Article status.

Origins/family background/studies

Does the article reflect what is known about the composer's background and childhood? If s/he received musical training as a child, who from, is the experience and nature of the early teachers' influences described?

• good

Early career

Does the article indicate when s/he started composing, discuss early style, success/failure? Are other pedagogic and personal influences from this time on his/her music discussed?

• good

Mature career

Does the article discuss his/her adult life and composition history? Are other pedagogic and personal influences from this time on his/her music discussed?

• good

List(s) of works

Are lists of the composer's works in WP, linked from this article? If there are special catalogs (e.g. Köchel for Mozart, Hoboken for Haydn), are they used? If the composer has written more than 20-30 works, any exhaustive listing should be placed in a separate article.

• good

Critical appreciation

Does the article discuss his/her style, reception by critics and the public (both during his/her life, and over time)?

• good

Illustrations and sound clips

Does the article contain images of its subject, birthplace, gravesite or other memorials, important residences, manuscript pages, museums, etc? Does it contain samples of the composer's work (as composer and/or performer, if appropriate)? (Note that since many 20th-century works are copyrighted, it may not be possible to acquire more than brief fair use samples of those works, but efforts should be made to do so.) If an article is of high enough quality, do its images and media comply with image use policy and non-free content policy? (Adherence to these is needed for Good Article or Featured Article consideration, and is apparently a common reason for nominations being quick-failed.)

• OK, but there are no sound samples. I have not checked the fair-use status of the images.

References, sources and bibliography

Does the article contain a suitable number of references? Does it contain sufficient inline citations? (For an article to pass Good Article nomination, every paragraph possibly excepting those in the lead, and every direct quotation, should have at least one footnote.) If appropriate, does it include Further Reading or Bibliography beyond the cited references?

• insufficient footnotes for GA/FA

Structure and compliance with WP

MOS

Does the article comply with Wikipedia style and layout guidelines, especially WP:MOS, WP:LEAD, WP:LAYOUT, and possibly WP:SIZE? (Article length is not generally significant, although Featured Articles Candidates may be questioned for excessive length.)

• good

Things that may be necessary to pass a Good Article review

• Article requires more inline citations (WP:CITE)

Summary

The above is mostly a formality; since this article is former FA/GA, the problems it has largely stem from changes to those standards, and drift in the article (already noted on the Talk page). GA and FA reviewers can be picky about footnotes; prepare to argue any paragraph not ending in one. (I doubt it will pass GA or FA in its present state because of this, as a few sections have no or few footnotes.)

While the article references audio available in the Commons, adding some audio (in side boxes like images), especially to accompany reference to one or two works in the article, would be good.

Content is definitely A class, format/logistics is borderline A-B class. If you have questions or comments, contact me on my talk page. -- Magic♪piano 16:31, 13 November 2008 (UTC)