Mozart

[lordlance]

Just think, all the Complete Mozart box sets will need to be revised and reissued.

That's what they want.

[NumberSix]

From the liner notes in a recent Requiem release:

Since death (strictly considered) is the true final destination of our lives, I have, over the past few years, made myself so familiar with this true best friend of humanity that his face not only no longer holds anything terrifying for me, but even much that soothes and comforts!

And I thank my God for granting me the good fortune of providing me with the opportunity (you understand me) to recognise it as the key to our true blessedness. – I never go to bed at night without thinking that perhaps (however young I may be) I will no longer exist the following day – and yet no one among all those who know me can say that I am morose or sad in my behaviour. And I thank my Creator
every day for this blessedness and wish it cordially upon every one of my fellow beings.

-- Mozart's last letter to his ailing father, 4 April 1787

[Madiel]

So, what do people think of the new K9 edition of the Koechel catalogue saying "oh to hell with it, let's stop trying to be chronological"?

Bad decision in my book. Because even K1 claimed to be chronological, and people will still think the numbering is chronological. K6 tried to fix mistakes, and yes it probably introduced a few new ones. But it was a step towards that work. Now we're being told that actually, the number isn't really supposed to mean anything, it's just a number. Which would be fine if you didn't have all these other indications that it was originally intended to be an indication of chronology.

EDIT: I particularly dislike not trying to link divertimentos/serenades with the marches that were written to introduce them. Who is going to guess that K.334 and K.445 go together? You'll get a clue though if it also says 320b and 320c.

[lordlance]

So, what do people think of the new K9 edition of the Koechel catalogue saying "oh to hell with it, let's stop trying to be chronological"?

Bad decision in my book. Because even K1 claimed to be chronological, and people will still think the numbering is chronological. K6 tried to fix mistakes, and yes it probably introduced a few new ones. But it was a step towards that work. Now we're being told that actually, the number isn't really supposed to mean anything, it's just a number. Which would be fine if you didn't have all these other indications that it was originally intended to be an indication of chronology.

EDIT: I particularly dislike not trying to link divertimentos/serenades with the marches that were written to introduce them. Who is going to guess that K.334 and K.445 go together? You'll get a clue though if it also says 320b and 320c.

The only solution is scorched-earth and a completely new renumbering but that would be problematic as all hitherto references would have old numbering and people might be reluctant to generally adopt the new numbering. So we end up with this band-aid solution...

[Mandryka]

The C minor quintet with oboe instead of viola - very interesting performance even putting aside the oboe, because of the punchy phrasing. I really don't like it but obviously that's irrelevant to anyone else. Streaming.

[Mandryka]

Really special K595 from Imogen Cooper and Richard Tognetti - effaces the memory of all others.

[Madiel]

I just got around to watching the 3rd and last episode of the BBC documentary The Genius of Mozart.

It's really quite good. The last episode takes an interesting angle by focusing to a considerable extent on Constanze, ultimately leading to mentioning how hard she worked after her husband's death to ensure that his name lived on. Something she probably doesn't get enough credit for.

The show did occasionally tip into "we must make Mozart the most profound music ever", though. The bit that really hit me, given what I'd just been saying on the WAYLT thread, was how Eine kleine Nachtmusik was used absolutely perfectly as the background to a party, only for Hazelwood to completely ruin the effect by linking it to the death of Leopold Mozart and insisting it contained the saddest music anyone had ever written in a major key.

[Karl Henning]

I just got around to watching the 3rd and last episode of the BBC documentary The Genius of Mozart.

It's really quite good. The last episode takes an interesting angle by focusing to a considerable extent on Constanze, ultimately leading to mentioning how hard she worked after her husband's death to ensure that his name lived on. Something she probably doesn't get enough credit for.

The show did occasionally tip into "we must make Mozart the most profound music ever", though. The bit that really hit me, given what I'd just been saying on the WAYLT thread, was how Eine kleine Nachtmusik was used absolutely perfectly as the background to a party, only for Hazelwood to completely ruin the effect by linking it to the death of Leopold Mozart and insisting it contained the saddest music anyone had ever written in a major key.

Woof!

[JBS]

Really special K595 from Imogen Cooper and Richard Tognetti - effaces the memory of all others.

Did you ever hear any of these? And if so, how were they?



That K595 seems to be available only as DL

[calyptorhynchus]

Really special K595 from Imogen Cooper and Richard Tognetti - effaces the memory of all others.

Arrived late at this post. I haven't heard this recording, though I don't doubt it is very good.

I'm just here venting because the image on the cover is a random image of a singing bird. In fact the bird is a Bokmakierie (a South African bush-shrike, whose name is onomatopoeic). Why was it chosen for the cover, being found in neither Austria, nor Australia (nor England, the pianist's home country)?

[Mandryka]

Did you ever hear any of these? And if so, how were they?



That K595 seems to be available only as DL

Listening to the K491 now - the concerto I know best. I think it's seriously good! Happy, delicate. I'm evidently sympathetic to her style in Mozart.

[Karl Henning]

Arrived late at this post. I haven't heard this recording, though I don't doubt it is very good.

I'm just here venting because the image on the cover is a random image of a singing bird. In fact the bird is a Bokmakierie (a South African bush-shrike, whose name is onomatopoeic). Why was it chosen for the cover, being found in neither Austria, nor Australia (nor England, the pianist's home country)?

Your avian quarrel is just.

[Cato]

Arrived late at this post. I haven't heard this recording, though I don't doubt it is very good.

I'm just here venting because the image on the cover is a random image of a singing bird. In fact the bird is a Bokmakierie (a South African bush-shrike, whose name is onomatopoeic). Why was it chosen for the cover, being found in neither Austria, nor Australia (nor England, the pianist's home country)?

Your avian quarrel is just.

It has been my experience that people in Marketing/Advertising, in general, care not the smallest fig for such details!  The idea that they should check simply never strikes them.

It is parallel to movies and television shows these days, where details which could have been checked, and should have been checked, are ignored, along with Logic in the plot.

I have a relative who has dealt with both areas throughout his career, and the slovenly attitudes have often frustrated him.

To address Mozart's Music directly: last week (I think, maybe the week before) there was a discussion about three-movement symphonies (e.g. Franck, Rachmaninoff's Third ).

Recently the Dayton Classical Radio station played Mozart's 3-movement Symphony #27, which the announcer called "lesser known."

Certainly a top work by Mozart!

[Madiel]

It's a pretty picture of a bird. An Australian ought to know that an ABC release is not likely to have more meaning than that (maybe it was a series of pretty pictures of birds).

After finishing "The Genius of Mozart" I've gone back to watching "Mozart on Tour" with Andre Previn. I'd watched 3 episodes out of 13, but I've decided to go back to the beginning. There's plenty of charm to be had in episode 1, including Ashkenazy's performance of the K.414 piano concerto (a choice which does have some logic to it for an episode about Mozart's childhood visit to London).

Actually that reminds me of one of the surprising things in the last episode of the other show: apparently Haydn wanted Mozart to follow him to London. Which must have made it even more devastating when he received the news that Mozart had died.

[Florestan]

It's a pretty picture of a bird. An Australian ought to know that an ABC release is not likely to have more meaning than that (maybe it was a series of pretty pictures of birds).

After finishing "The Genius of Mozart" I've gone back to watching "Mozart on Tour" with Andre Previn. I'd watched 3 episodes out of 13, but I've decided to go back to the beginning. There's plenty of charm to be had in episode 1, including Ashkenazy's performance of the K.414 piano concerto (a choice which does have some logic to it for an episode about Mozart's childhood visit to London).

Actually that reminds me of one of the surprising things in the last episode of the other show: apparently Haydn wanted Mozart to follow him to London. Which must have made it even more devastating when he received the news that Mozart had died.

Before Haydn left for his second London visit, Mozart met him and tried to persuade him not to go, telling him he was too old for such a trip and expressing his fear that they'll never again see each other. He was quite the prophet, although he feared not his own death but Haydn's.

[Florestan]

I just got around to watching the 3rd and last episode of the BBC documentary The Genius of Mozart.

It's really quite good. The last episode takes an interesting angle by focusing to a considerable extent on Constanze, ultimately leading to mentioning how hard she worked after her husband's death to ensure that his name lived on. Something she probably doesn't get enough credit for.

The show did occasionally tip into "we must make Mozart the most profound music ever", though. The bit that really hit me, given what I'd just been saying on the WAYLT thread, was how Eine kleine Nachtmusik was used absolutely perfectly as the background to a party, only for Hazelwood to completely ruin the effect by linking it to the death of Leopold Mozart and insisting it contained the saddest music anyone had ever written in a major key.

Bollocks! That's Schubert specialty.

I believe EKNM's reputation is well deserved. It's the perfect embodiment of the Classical style: functional music, instantly enjoyable, eminently and memorably tuneful, mostly cheerful yet not without tinges of melancholy, designed not for being studied and analyzed by posterity but for being enjoyed in the here and now of the performance. A short but intense while of unassuming, bittersweet joy.

Trying to make all that into a "profound" work of art, consciously conceived as such, goes against everything we know about both Mozart the man and his aesthetic. Why can't some people just be content with simply enjoying the music while it lasts and why they must always look for some hidden and profound meaning is beyond me.

[Madiel]

Before Haydn left for his second London visit, Mozart met him and tried to persuade him not to go, telling him he was too old for such a trip and expressing his fear that they'll never again see each other. He was quite the prophet, although he feared not his own death but Haydn's.

Mozart died during Haydn's first London trip. So no.

It's Griesinger who gives the account of their farewell which is a bit less florid, and where he notes the intention that Mozart would replace Haydn in Salomon's London concerts. Salomon invited both Haydn and Mozart, which is the bit I didn't know. Mozart never made it.

[Florestan]

Mozart died during Haydn's first London trip. So no.

Okay, substitute first for second in my post.

Look, I didn't make that up, I read it somewhere. Will look up the source and post it.

[JBS]

Okay, substitute first for second in my post.

Look, I didn't make that up, I read it somewhere. Will look up the source and post it.

I remember reading that somewhere as well. In my case, it would have been the liner notes to a CD.

[Florestan]

I remember reading that somewhere as well. In my case, it would have been the liner notes to a CD.

In my case was certainly a book but I can't remember it otoh.