Volume 9–2 (Low Res).pdf

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At the end, when he died while
working on a commissioned requiem
mass that he felt was really for himself,
Mozart was buried in an unmarked
grave outside of Vienna. It
wasn't that he had no one to care for
or about him; he did. His mother and
father were always close to him. So
was his sister Maria Anna.And later
on, his wife, Constanze, and two boys
(Karl and Wolfgang) were all a happy
family. But it was such a miserable day
in Vienna when he was taken to the
Saint Mark's churchyard that no one
could accompany the hearse, and the
driver was given only enough money
to take care of a burial in a mass grave.
Too bad. There are millions of music
lovers who would want to pay respects
to this man who provided so much
musical pleasure.
Papa Leopold traveled with
Mozart whenever he could. He became
the young prodigy's booking agent
and manager, beside performing his
parental duties as father and teacher.
In 1782, when Wolfgang married Constanze,
the father and son drifted apart
a little, but Leopold always offered
his advice on music and life whether
Mozart asked for it or not. His mother,
Anna, was always kind and loving to
him. She died in 1778 while in Paris
with Mozart. Leopold died in 1787.
ND THE MUSICAL MOZART?
Nothing average or mundane
here: god-like is a
better description. Yet anyone
can enjoy his music.
It may soar high, but not
over anyone's head. Mozart's music is
very popular today. Spin your FM dial
and within an hour's time you'll surely
find something by Wolfgang. He was
popular in his time, too. But that was
because his music has appeal. It's easy
to listen to. It makes doing things easy.
There were others in his time and after
who composed just as well for eating,
drinking, talking music. They even
wrote more of it and faster! But that's
not why Mozart was and is still so great.
He wrote a lot of music for a 35
year old. He should have been able to
do more. He was only just beginning
to "roll." His best was yet to come.
In all his later works he showed signs
of transforming his classical style to
something more abundant: a romanticism
with style, perhaps. It's a pity he
had to leave all in the hands of Haydn,
Beethoven, and Schubert to interpret
for him.
Very few of his contemporaries
and friends recognized him for anything
but a great little guy who composed
like hell and did terrific things.
He knew he was good. He never thought
he was a genius. Most real geniuses
don't. He just kept practicing and doing
what he had to do to make a living
and have a good time doing it.
It's a fact that he was a genius.
Time has a nice way of putting all those
things in perspective. From a distance
we can see the taste, nuance, emotion,
and complete control and balance in
his works. Mozart was the most perfect
composer who ever lived.
He was not only perfect, he was
versatile. You name it, he tried it—and
he succeeded. Look at the listing of
his works on the facing page and you'll
see that he began with minuets; then
symphonies, concerti, chamber works;
moved on to sonatas, duos, trios,
quartets, quintets, operas, divertimenti,
church music, songs, and solo works
for violin, flute, piano, clarinet, organ,
horn, and more. Amazing in scope (and
like good wine), Mozart kept developing
and improving to the end.
Papa Leopold was able to quickly
teach young Wolfgang the basics
of both composing and playing music.
He was perfect for the job: a teacher,
violinist, author and composer. Luckily
for us, he did everything right because
Mozart loved making music. They
were a great team. Traveling Europe,
they promoted the prodigy "little Wolfgang,"
and soon everybody knew about
"the little kid with the great chops."
When the Mozarts got to London,
Wolfgang shared a piano bench with
Johann Christian Bach (old J. S:s
younger son), and they improvised
together. Bach was tickled with this
little kid who made such nice music.
They became great friends, and this
led Mozart into becoming serious
about his composing: he started his
long series of 27 piano concerti.
Mozart was the piano concerto.
Others were both writing and performing
in this form, but Wolfgang
OK
In the early 17th century, music publishers
began to add opus numbers to identify a composer's
specific work, and to place that work in
its proper sequence relating co the composer's
creative development. Opus numbers are a complex
and irregularly applied system, dependent
on the whim of the composer and/or publisher.
Sometimes the opus list was only a privately
kept journal in which the composer listed works
by date of completion with some remarks.
In Mozart's case, his list was incomplete as
well as obliquely woven throughout his many
letters. There was no order until a Viennese
Counciller, Ludwig von &Ache', applied his botanic
and mineralogic background with its scientific
thoroughness. He published his K. List in 1862,
and to this day we still use it to identify each
Mozartian work.
We show it opposite with Mozart's age at
composition included. 0Ic start: -+
made it his very personal medium. He
played the piano so well, and it was
such a direct line from his mind to the
keyboard through his fingers, that
they flowed from him. The more he
wrote, the better he got. He got so
good at composing piano concerti that
even a titan like Beethoven was afraid
of doing his first in awe of Mozart's
prowess. Wolfgang wrote his piano
concerti as if they were small operas
or plays; they were intense, human,
happy, sad, mystic scenarios of action
between the piano and orchestra. They
had his balance and melody, too.
Never boring, they were high among
his personal favorites.
THIS PAGE WAS SET IN ITC CHELTENHAM.'