K. 19c, Va, dal furor portata

K. 19c, Va, dal furor portata

Ah.  Mozart's first dabbling with opera.  At least, as far as I know.   Many also may know this work as K. 21 on the K¹ catalogue, but I have decided to use the K⁶ for consistency.   Mozart composed the music from a section of Metastasio's libretto, Ezio.  Why did Mozart choose that particular piece?  He was in London at the time, and Handel had composed the Ezio opera.  London had adopted the German-born Handel. (I’m Sure they’d love to have had Mozart as well.)  Handel’s works were popular in the city.  They had to have had a great influence on the young Mozart. 

So why did Mozart pick the libretto Va, dal furor portata for his first dabblement in opera?  Here is an English translation:

Go, transported by fury,


reveal the treachery;


but remember, ingrate,


who is the traitor.



Disclose the deception that was planned;

but at the moment consider

that I gave you life


and you take it from me.

The music carried a stoic, noble tone.  With Ezio composed of Roman military characters, the music complies with Hellenistic tragedy rules.  Mozart seems to be composing a formula.  Of course, to me, the music is not particularly moving, and sounds like an operatic stereotype. 

But, why this section? Why these word?  A demand that treachery be smote.  Was Mozart experiencing a perceived betrayal, and thus guided to the words?  (One could see how such thoughts may be running through the boy’s head.) Or, did someone else simply request the work?  If someone forced me to guess, I’d say the latter.  I find it problematic that a youth of 9 would be able comprehend such complex literary themes, let alone seek them out via his own fruition.  Yes.  He was well educated—and the music complexly fits the themes—but I’d say he was guided to this section, if not completely requested to compose music for this except.  To counter, others may say, “True, but Mozart was a master of complex music at such an early age.”  Sure.  Yet, in certain other areas he was quite immature.  Or, for a nine-year-old of reasonable maturity. 

Ultimately, I am basing my suppositions on nothing but conjecture, or even my gut.  With any Mozart (or any artist’s) work, we have to dissect whether he was expressing his own emotions in the piece, or did he create music fitting the feelings others wanted to express.  

A plight of a for-hire artist.  

K. 19, Symphony no. 4

K. 19, Symphony no. 4

What happened to K. 17?  Seems those nerdy historians have determined Mozart did not write it.  It makes a guy wonder.  I heard a bunch of debates concerning whether Bach wrote some of his more famous works: Minuet in G and Toccata and Fugue.  Last I’ve heard Minuet in G was most likely not written by him, but Toccata and Fugue was.  Who knows?  How many more new Mozart works will be discovered, and how many will be disavowed?

Anyway, now on to K. 19.  His next work on the K⁶ scale.  The first movement opens with a marching number, like something I would hear in a royal parade.  Then, it shifts to a frolic that hints of sprinting in intervals.  It is the shortest movement.  The second movement sighs with reminiscence.   The andante recounts happy moments as well as sorrowful, both blended beautifully.  The third movement is a presto. That’s a new tempo mark to me.  Not sure what exactly it entails, just that it is fast.  But, the third movement didn’t sound a lot different than the allegro first.    

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.

K. 219 Teaser

So, as you may have read, as of right now, Mozart's 5th Violin Concerto is my favorite piece. The third Movement is the theme of my book.  And, it is not possible for me to write everything I have to say about it in just one blurb.  So here is an introduction.

Even if my tastes change, K. 219's third movement will always be the work that peeked my interests in Mozart.  Sure, I've heard, and enjoyed, those famous pieces: Eine Kliene Nactmusick, Marriage of Figaro Overture, Piano Sonata in A, and Piano Sonata in C.  But, there was something about the final movement, that made me say, "I need to check out this Mozart fellow."  This was even apart from the fact, that K. 219 does have a strong melody that gets stuck in one's head, like the more famous works. 

How did I hear it in the first place?  Well, I work overnights at my job, and there is a lot of down time.  I decided I wanted to make that time productive, mostly by writing or reading.  And, I wanted some wordless background music.  (I've never really gotten into popular music.)  For my first son's birth, the hospital gave us a 'Baby Mozart' cd.  So, I popped it in.  It had a lot of the famous works, including the last movement from the 5th Concerto.  The other songs were nice, many of which I said, "Cool, Mozart wrote one?" Yet, the 5th, which I had never heard before, moved me (will explain more in future blog).  From there, I started to read about the man and bought a greatest hits CD.  

One thing I know: if someone wants to like something strong enough, he or she most likely will.  The same could be said for the opposite.  So, I wonder how much my feelings toward the rest of the work stem from my love of the third movement.  But, after hearing the first and the second, I am gripped with nearly the same power as the third.  No other full Mozart work that I have yet heard has held such similar power over me .  (Of course, I do have a long way to go.)  Does my joy of K. 219 stem only from a strong desire to enjoy it?  Is there something about that work that speaks to me as an individual?  Or, is there something so great about that work as a whole?  (It may be arrogant for me to admit that, because that tantamount to saying, there is something is so great about me to have recognized it.)

Obviously, subjectivity factors the enjoyment of everything. And unfortunately, some will never like Mozart, because they don't want to.  Yet, why do certain arts endure while others fade?  Is it all a matter of subjectivity?  Do people like Mozart, solely because the high-brow crowds have determined he is someone we should like?  Or, is their something inherently powerful about his music?  I am going to have to say the latter.  Because, if there was ever anyone with a distain for the high-brow, it is this tone-deaf troglodyte.

K. 15, Sonata in B-Flat

K. 15, Sonata in B-Flat

A two-movement work, of a new set of tempos.  Andante Meastoso and Allegro Grazioso.  The terms are Greek to me (not actually, I have taken four semesters of Greek).  The first is ions more moving than the second.  The violin (or flute—I listened top both versions.) anticipates a hopeful future and sighs in content, all mixed with hints of trepidation.  The second movement is frolicking ditty.

K. 10-15 were all published in England.  I couldn’t help but wonder… (Trying to be as least offensive as possible.)  What if Leopold would have stayed in England?  England received the Mozarts well.  And, Leopold felt they were appreciated there.  Great composers flocked to England, including JC Bach.  In spite of musical growth fodder, Leopold could not confine himself to an area that wasn’t Catholic.  Now, I know the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs. But, I can’t help notice the oodles of people who doggedly stick to something they don’t believe in.  Too often people tie their identities into worldviews that don’t agree with.  For example one time I heard a commentator state a certain candidate couldn’t help his religion because he was ‘born that way.’   This mentality illustrates why so many cling to a religion even if they do no believe it.  Religion to many is not a choice, but part of who they are.  I disagree with that notion. 

I was talking with a friend, who was getting married in the Catholic Church.  He complained about what the priest was saying.  I asked him why he had to get married in the Catholic Church.  He said because he was Catholic.  I asked him if he believe such-and-such and what-and-not.  He said no to every point.  I didn’t want to say it, but the truth is he was not Catholic.   How many others cling to a religion they don’t believe (or for that matter a non-religion)? I’m not out to bash Catholics or the religious.  If fact, I’m of a strong reformed Baptist theology.  I am simply saying if you were to ask me about the points that define such a theology, I actually believe them.  And, I strive to stand by them.  

So how does this apply to Mozart?  Leopold insisted on being in a Catholic area because he was Catholic.  But, something about his understanding of his faith goads me.  A man of faith so tightly clinging to the material.  His letters are riddled with complaints of financial woes.  However, historians have suggested, Leopold likely had sufficient income.  I’m not saying he didn’t believe in Catholicism, simply that he didn’t fully understand it.  And not understanding one’s faith is not problematic (no one really does), but an unwillingness to dig deeper is. 

And, maybe I’m a prejudice stick-in-the-mud, who sides with a Protestant theology, and thinks it would have been a no-brainer for Mozart to stay in England. Just… Who knows what would have been different if they had stayed in England?  With the revolutionary war soon to come, maybe they were better off.

K. 14, Sonata in C

K. 14, Sonata in C

So when I saw the movements of K. 14 were an allegro, allegro, and menuetto, I was expecting the work to be an exceedingly happy number.  On the contrary.  The allegros both dabbled in merriment, but a conflicting worry grew as the movements progressed.  In the third movement, the first menuetto reminisces in melancholy.  The second menuetto, sandwiched within the first, counts down the minutes, waiting… whether for time to end or circumstances to improve, is anyone’s guess.  

My mind has been chewing on a few major works and what I could say about them.  I have a poll on the side, you can vote for the next non-sequntial article.  Feel free to comment as well concerning your favorite Mozart pieces.