The theory behind THE MOZART EFFECT is that pleasant-but-not-emotional, tuneful-in-the-upper-register music (according to research by Dr. Alfred Tomatis, which has shown that high frequency melodies stimulate the language centers in the brain) is conducive to organized thinking and therefore greater retention.

Mozart is not unique in having created this kind of music, but in his extensive output there are many examples to choose from. This album, along with the others in this series, was compiled and sequenced by Don Campbell, author of the companion book.

Even though this compilation is meant to be background music to studying or preparing for work, the performances, especially by violinist Takako Nishizaki, are inspiring enough to ignore the 30 minute limitation recommended for best results (apparently even Mozart can be too much of a good thing). You may want to throw caution to the wind and seek out the performances of the complete works these excerpts were taken from.