Palestrina, Bach, Haydn and Mozart represent the pinnacle of human musical achievement - every path taken by professional composers since then, while often diverting (Sibelius, Mahler and Bartok spring to mind), has been a blind one.
I nurture a secret hope that Arvo Part is providing a signpost that will lead us back.
Struggle for holiness is a intensely personal experience. Listen to his piano sonatas and you'll be a better Christian. This:
With Beethoven, however, we leave behind the lofty aspirations of the Enlightenment and begin the descent into the narcissistic inwardness of Romanticism. Mozart gives you music that asks to be appreciated for its own sake, and you don't need to know anything about the composer's life to enjoy it. Beethoven's music, on the other hand, is all about himself - it is simply a vehicle for a self-indulgent display of bizarre mood swings and personal difficulties.
is a false dichotomy.