Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus”: Sublime Simplicity

Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel insisted that Mozart’s Ave verum corpus, K. 618 is “too simple for children, and too difficult for adults.” Indeed, this simple choral, unfolding over 46 measures, imparts a cosmic “rightness.” It says all that needs to be said. The score is inscribed with a single interpretive marking—sotto voce, which implies a hushed, reverent tone. This motet was composed in the final six months of Mozart’s life, concurrently with The …

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Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major: A Magical Operatic Drama

Mozart wrote six piano concerti in 1784. Each distinct in atmosphere, they served as dazzling vehicles to highlight the composer’s skill as one of Vienna’s superstar keyboard players. Among these works, Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453 has a special story. Mozart wrote it for his beloved student, Barbara (“Babette”) Ployer, the teenage niece of an adviser to the Salzburg imperial court, who lived outside of Vienna. Proudly, he …

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Mozart’s Symphony No. 27 in G Major: Salzburg Sunshine

Symphony No. 27 in G Major, K. 199 is sunny, youthful music of the 17-year-old Mozart. Completed in April of 1773, it is among a group of four symphonies Mozart wrote after returning home to Salzburg following his second trip to Italy. (His opera, Lucio Silla, was being performed in Milan). Two months later, Mozart and his father would set out for the imperial capital of Vienna. Scored for two flutes, two …

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Mozart’s “Kegelstatt” Trio, K. 498: Music Conceived at the Bowling Alley?

In a memorable scene from the 1984 film, Amadeus, the fictionalized Mozart composes at a billiards table. Although Mozart’s phrases unfold with an uncanny crystalline ease, the composer’s creative process probably was not as casual and effortless as the scene suggests. Perhaps in an attempt to further the legend, Mozart’s widow, Constanze, destroyed all but ten percent of her husband’s sketches, following his death. Regardless, Mozart loved to play billiards, as well …

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Mozart’s “Il Re Pastore”: Excerpts from a Youthful Opera

Mozart’s two-act opera, Il re pastore (“The Shepherd King”), K. 208, written to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, tells a fanciful story in which love and faithfulness triumph over ambition. The following brief synopsis is provided by Opera Online: Alessandro, king of Macedonia (soprano), having just conquered the city of Sidon, wants it to be ruled by Aminta (soprano), the young legitimate heir who became a shepherd after he was removed from the throne …

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Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major: David Oistrakh in Concert in 1968

Mozart’s earliest childhood performances as a violinist were recounted humorously by Johann Andreas Schachtner. In a 1792 letter to Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna, or “Nannerl,” Schachtner, a close friend of the family, recalled an occasion when he was invited to play second violin for an informal chamber music session at the Mozart house. Little Wolfgang asked to be allowed to play second violin. As he hadn’t had any lessons yet, your Papa …

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Mozart’s Symphony No. 36 in C Major, “Linz”: A Hurriedly Written Masterpiece

In 1783, Mozart traveled to Salzburg with his new bride, Constanze, in an attempt to reconcile with his father, who did not approve of the marriage. On the return trip to Vienna, the couple spent three weeks in the Upper Austrian town of Linz as guests of Count Johann Thun-Hohenstein, an old friend of the Mozart family. In a letter dated October 31, Mozart wrote to his father, When we reached the …

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