I mean work done when the creator is "mature". Mature is a difficult property to pin down. As I wrote previously, I got re-engaged with Beethoven's 9th symphony a couple of weeks ago. I have a complete recording of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The Beethoven was part of an inexpensive set of all 9 of his symphony and when I listened to it carefully, I thought the bass singer sounded elderly and strained. So, I went online to get a different version. It came a few days ago and I listened to it while driving yesterday and today. I tend to drive about 20 or 30 minutes a day so I still haven't finished it but I am close to the end.
The 9th symphony is his only symphony that includes human voice. The Magic Flute is an opera so there is voice all the way through. The Magic Flute is based on a fantastical story. Both have memorable tunes and vocal and instrumental highlights aplenty. Both can be heard in YouTube videos. I find that both can be listened to repeatedly, to the point that the music is more or less memorized. When a passage ends, and the mind furnishes an anticipation of the next part, the music is in the mind.
Mozart lived from 1756 to 1791, only 45 years and died in the year that Magic Flute was first performed. Beethoven lived from 1770 to 1827. The 9th symphony was first performed in 1824. Neither composer was old by today's standards but both were near the end of their lives when these two works were composed and first performed.
The movie "Amadeus" tells the story of Mozart's life and the movie "Immortal Beloved" tells the story of the mature Beethoven going deaf. Beethoven was deaf by 1816. Listening to works by either man is probably quite a different matter from the time when only in a concert hall was the music available.
