Transcript Mozart - West Ada

Mozart
January 27, 1756
Salzburg, Austria
December 5, 1791
Vienna, Austria
• Unlike any other composer in musical history, he wrote in all the
musical genres of his day and excelled in every one. His taste, his
command of form, and his range of expression have made him seem
the most universal of all composers; yet, it may also be said that
his music was written to accommodate the specific tastes of
particular audiences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlpxjBgG-7E
18th century Austria and central Europe map
3
• Playing chords on the harpsichord
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• Playing pieces of music
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• Composing various pieces
• Concerto
6
• Played in courts around Europe
By 13
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Sonatas for keyboard and violin published
One Act German Opera
Italian opera buffa
Either played/composed a mass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89Jq3svLtk&list=PL48F84FF49FEB6BFD
Still only 13…
“Mozart had by now acquired considerable fluency in the musical
language of his time, and he was especially adept at imitating the
musical equivalent of local dialects. The early Paris and
London sonatas, the autographs of which include Leopold’s helping
hand, show a childlike pleasure in patterns of notes and textures. But
the London and The Hague symphonies attest to his quick and
inventive response to the music he had encountered, as, with their
enrichment of texture and fuller development, do those he produced
in Vienna (such as K 43 and, especially, K 48). And his first Italian
opera shows a ready grasp of the buffo style.”
• Stanley SadieThe Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica
There Mozart heard the Sistine Choir in the famous Miserere of
Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652), which was considered the choir’s
exclusive preserve but which Mozart copied out from memory.
Mastery of the Italian operatic style was a prerequisite for a
successful international composing career, and the Austrian
political dominion over northern Italy ensured that doors
would be open there to Mozart.
(summer of 1773): but Mozart’s contact with the newest
Viennese music seems to have had a considerable effect on
him. He produced a set of six string quartets in the capital,
showing in them his knowledge of Haydn’s recent Opus 20 in
his fuller textures and more intellectual approach to the
(1771):Back in Salzburg, Mozart had a prolific spell: he wrote
medium. Soon after his return he wrote a group of symphonies,
eight symphonies, four divertimentos, several substantial
including two that represent a new level of achievement, the
sacred works, and an allegorical serenata, Il sogno di Scipione.
“Little” G Minor (K 183) and the A Major (K 201). Also dating
from this time was Mozart’s first true piano concerto(in D, K
175; earlier keyboard concertos were arrangements of
movements by other composers).
Italy
Benefits of travel…
Salzburg
Vienna
Munich
Italy
Paris
Salzburg
Vienna
• Position with an archbishop: quit
• Made money performing and composing (freelance), and taking on
students
• Lives with friends
Salzburg Austria
• Undemanding work
• Not up to his ability level
• Worked on serious pieces
• His confidence in handling the medium grew
• Increasingly fanciful ideas and attractive
• Virtuoso displays
• Father still in charge of his work, and concerts