19 Dec
2012
19 Dec
'12
12:01 a.m.
On 18 December 2012 00:37, Ralf Mardorf <ralf.mardorf(a)alice-dsl.net> wrote:
I know less about Mozart, but his music sounds
insincere to me, like
things done by Malcolm McLaren.
I think that's an interesting point of view, and one I can understand.
It might help to think of Mozart as an ingenious and emotive composer
writing in a language that has since come to seem commonplace -- a bit
like English readers might sometimes think of Dickens, especially
after seeing half a dozen overwrought stage performances of A
Christmas Carol. He can't be blamed for our context.
Try some more intimate or historically-informed performances of e.g.
his piano concertos. Mozart didn't have the grand dynamic thrusts we
got used to from the romantic period, and performances that emphasise
the big sweeping stuff just sound a bit formulaic, while those that
work through detail and local (tonal) colour I find a lot more
communicative.
I'm sure it's quite normal to have composers that make absolutely no
sense to you though. Mine is Händel. I don't get him and I'm afraid I
never will.
(When I was at school, my music teacher -- of whom I was fond --
thought Brahms' 4th symphony was the pinnacle of mankind's creative
achievement. Or thereabouts. To this day I can't understand the piece.
Nowadays, mostly because of his songs and chamber works, Brahms is one
of my favourite composers but it's taken me over 20 years and I'm
still not getting that 4th symphony.)
Chris