Pieces that have blown you away recently

[Florestan]

I think that K 452 is Mozart's finest chamber work.

He considered it his finest, period, at the time of its creation. 

[Spotted Horses]

After the Divertimento for string trio. 

Oddly enough (and I don't want to sound harsh, it's great that others can enjoy his music so much), but the last time I heard that quintet I wasn't particularly impressed (perhaps it had to do with the recording?).

Recently I heard the Gran Partita live and my reaction was rather mild too despite it received a very committed performance. Whenever I listen to any Mozart work live in concert, I fail to get excited or enthusiastic about it.

Mozart never blows me away because I expect it to be a miracle. Objectively it is similar to other composers of the period (Haydn, etc) but I find there is often an undefinable something in it that miraculous.

[DavidW]

He considered it his finest, period, at the time of its creation. 

It is classic. 

[Symphonic Addict]

Mozart never blows me away because I expect it to be a miracle. Objectively it is similar to other composers of the period (Haydn, etc) but I find there is often an undefinable something in it that miraculous.

Mozart's music is too pretty for me, no matter how miraculous or great it is. Apart from lyricism, I need tension, conflict, struggle, and that's why I much prefer to listen to Beethoven's music, for instance, at a concert hall over him.

[ritter]

Mozart's music is too pretty for me, no matter how miraculous or great it is. Apart from lyricism, I need tension, conflict, struggle, and that's why I much prefer to listen to Beethoven's music, for instance, at a concert hall over him.

Have you ever listened to Don Giovanni, Cesar?

[Spotted Horses]

Mozart's music is too pretty for me, no matter how miraculous or great it is. Apart from lyricism, I need tension, conflict, struggle, and that's why I much prefer to listen to Beethoven's music, for instance, at a concert hall over him.

I often hear tension and conflict as an undercurrent of a calm surface, recently in the Adagio from Mozart Cassation KV63, temporally a "juvenile" piece.

[Symphonic Addict]

Have you ever listened to Don Giovanni, Cesar?

Truth be told, the only Mozart opera I've heard (and seen, on DVD) so far is The Magic Flute. I guess that Don Giovanni does contain that important dose of drama I often seek in music.

[Florestan]

Mozart's music is too pretty for me, no matter how miraculous or great it is. Apart from lyricism, I need tension, conflict, struggle, and that's why I much prefer to listen to Beethoven's music, for instance, at a concert hall over him.

I'm the exact opposite. There's already plenty of tension, conflict and struggle in the real world. What I need from music is calmness, harmony and peace.

"What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue." - Henri Matisse.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

I'm the exact opposite. There's already plenty of tension, conflict and struggle in the real world. What I need from music is calmness, harmony and peace.

"What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue." - Henri Matisse.

And I can go both ways. For me, it could be the most gnarly piece of music, but if it reaches me, then it doesn't matter whether it is angry, happy, sad, melancholic, etc. just as long as I'm moved by it.

[DavidW]

Classical forms are built on tension and the resolution of returning to the home key. It might sound subtle to modern ears, but the drama is present in classical era music.

[Florestan]

Classical forms are built on tension and the resolution of returning to the home key. It might sound subtle to modern ears, but the drama is present in classical era music.

Absolutely, but it happens in so short a time span that it's gone before even noticed for untrained or unsympathetic ears. After all, a whole classical symphony is usually shorter than a single Late Classical symphony movement. And there are no brass blasts to announce it. 

[Spotted Horses]

Truth be told, the only Mozart opera I've heard (and seen, on DVD) so far is The Magic Flute. I guess that Don Giovanni does contain that important dose of drama I often seek in music.

The opening sequence of The Magic Flute, where Papageno is chased by the dragon, completely transcends the classical operatic convention where action happens in recitative and everything stops so a character can sing an aria. It strikes me as a classical version of Wagnerian music-drama. Plenty of tension, although it is, of course, tongue in cheek.

I'm not trying to convince you that you should like Mozart. But maybe I am trying to convey that some of us who love Mozart don't love it because it is pretty. We love it because, taking into account the constraints Mozart was under, it is uniquely intense.

[Symphonic Addict]

I'm not trying to convince you that you should like Mozart. But maybe I am trying to convey that some of us who love Mozart don't love it because it is pretty. We love it because, taking into account the constraints Mozart was under, it is uniquely intense.

Don't get me wrong, I really like many Mozart's pieces (and find many others to be too smooth for my taste). I was emphasizing how I react when attending live concerts featuring his works, which leave me somewhat indifferent. More power to you and others who get immense pleasure from his endless talent.

[Symphonic Addict]

Now something on topic:

Tippett: Piano Sonatas

Is this the most fantastic piano sonata cycle to come from the British isles? I'd say, yes. Each of this four sonatas is a world unto itself, very different one from the another and it shows the progression in idiom very clearly, being the last two more demanding and complex. The first two delighted me the most, though. Anyone into piano sonatas from the 20th century could enjoy these works gratifyingly.

[arpeggio]

Are the Tippett works new works for you?

[Symphonic Addict]

Are the Tippett works new works for you?

The sonatas? Yes, they are. First listens to them and I was absolutely impressed. First-class music making.

[AnotherSpin]

I often hear tension and conflict as an undercurrent of a calm surface, recently in the Adagio from Mozart Cassation KV63, temporally a "juvenile" piece.

Music imbued with spiritual meaning reflects the soul's longing. And the soul, by its very nature, is free of conflict—so this music is calm, beautiful, pure, and untouched by chaos. The true Self cannot be in conflict; it has neither a reason nor an opponent to struggle with.

Music that arises from the body and mind, on the other hand, inevitably carries tension. It is often harsh, dissonant, and formless. The body and mind exist in a state of constant struggle. For them, conflict is essential—it is the very condition of growth and existence. Without conflict, both would perish and cease to be.