RAPID COMPOSITION

We love stories about composers “writing a masterpiece in two days.” But a lot of that speed is a trick of timing.

Mozart, Mendelssohn, Handel and others often did the real composing **in their heads**—walking, traveling, living—then wrote it down fast when deadlines forced their hand. The *writing* looks miraculous because the *thinking* happened earlier.

Still, some numbers are wild:
– Handel: *Messiah* in **23 days**, *Israel in Egypt* in **27**
– Mendelssohn: the *Ruy Blas* overture in **2 days** (spite‑powered)
– Mozart: the *Don Giovanni* overture in **one night**

But speed alone doesn’t guarantee quality. Even the old books admit: if you’re not Mozart‑level, “six‑day opera” is usually not a flex.