K. 16, Symphony no.1

K. 16, Symphony no.1

The first movement is a cheerful, lively number, with one stretch of darkness.  Something about this movement that reminds me of the opening movement of his 25^th Symphony.  Moreover, the molto allegro has grown to a length that is comparable to the movements of his other works.  I’ll bet musicians wrestle with lengths of their works.  At some point, Mozart must have figured out what it took to satify an audience without them rolling their eyes saying, ‘enough already.’  The second and third movements are much shorter. The sencond movement isn’t as lamenting as my observed andante norms.  It speaks of a trial, but hope knows it will prevail.  The third movement is a frolicking number with moments of football-spiking passion. 

So, here is where his symphonies started.  In those days, the symphony was a minor bit for a composer.  Mozart turned the symphony mainstream.  What does it take to get people to appreciate a new twist on an old spin? The more I wrestle with this question, the more unsettled I become about my answers.  My chief response: name recognition. And, name recognition too often is grown from the established. Mozart had an audience because of his genius as a youth.  This is not to say he was famous for that fact only, but he had a pre-established platform to show the world a new voice.  And even still, he endured plenty of hardship displaying it.

Thus, I’m lead to talent reality shows and career advancement opportunities. And the pressure we place on ourselves to gain name recognition.  On one reality show, the judges criticized a lady for singing her own song, instead of a popular one. The contestant clearly became demoralized, and didn’t do so well.  How could she speak with passion when passionless about the popular? Of course, there is a contrasting point.  A man works for an employer.  He believes everyone (especially management) is a complete idiot and is not afraid to share it.  If he were in charge, everything would run as slick as a vegetable pumped digestive track.  But, why in the world would anyone put him in a position to institute change (regardless of the credibility of his ideas)?

So, how does a person gain name recognition even though he or she disdains the popular, and yet is plagued with an arrogant desire to fix the established?  If anyone has the answer, let me know.