Robert Levin Mozart Lecture Part 1

[ilkinond]

This gentleman needs to be tarred and feathered. That's the kind of human condition that would suit him the best. What pretentious drivel.

[EliasCalabretta1]

Did anyone notice that at 6:23 the piece by Mozart sounds oddly like a sonata by Haydn?

[Loumademe]

Ah. Finally. An intelligent approach to Mozart and the components of his ACTUAL music. Thank You.

[Neste1001]

"There is no formular for human beings"

[CheekyVimto08]

thanks for this

[juhyunsong]

흐흐.. 레빈 좋아요

[afrostin]

Performances today of Mozart's music tend to embalm him, rather than to enliven him! Great sentence - so true!

[cangjie12]

@afrostin exactly! but our music teachers will disagree. apparently mozart is 'nice'. mozart is 'pretty'. mozart is 'graceful'. mozart is 'singing'. mozart is 'delicate'. mozart is 'gentle'. >_<

[afrostin]

Wonderful lecture!

"Spontaneity" conc. recording - so important to be aware of, for us musicians!

To still make drama, when no audience there (HIM or HER, wants you to be playing for them! :) but only microphones!

Thank you Robert Levin, for this also.

And thank you for the great Requiem completion/edition!

[UGTownsend]

Robert Levin is a fantastic improvizer... i like his cadenzas in the Mozart piano concertos (^_^)b

[thoushaltparty]

How did Mozart contribute directly to Western music ? What examples could you give of the way in which he composed music influencing later generations? I know the fact that the instrumentation was changing is very relevant as discussed but what did Mozart's style do for the future of music ?

[davidgee100]

ritornello of d minor piano concerto third movement. Prolonged lack of harmonic stability - Wagner?

[davidgee100]

perfect timing with introduction of change in musical score.

[musicioso]

@thoushaltparty

this are very interesting questions...i would love to know the answer....

[musicianpiano1981]

WONDERFUL! are there more lectures by Levin somewhere?

He came to Israel last year, and blew our mind in a fantastic lecture..

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

There's no mention of the tuning system on the Mozart piano. He would have used an irregular temperament (not equal temperament), but nothing is ever said of this. Key-characteristics only exist in irregular temperaments, so F minor can only be distinct from E minor in an irregular temperament (not equal temperament).

[sk8nruff]

Wolfy did indeed use unequal temperment. More specifically he prefered 6th comma meantone. One of his students took a set of papers back with him to England after having studied with him and there's a description of 6th comma meantone on one of those sheets in Mozart's hand. Keys are not only disctinct they're completely different in character, tone color, and sound. 4 flats to 3 sharps is a huge distance. This is why certain affects are conveyed using particular keys.

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

There's no mention of the tuning system on the Mozart piano. He would have used an irregular temperament (not equal temperament), but nothing is ever said of this. Key-characteristics only exist in irregular temperaments, so F minor can only be distinct from E minor in an irregular temperament (not equal temperament).

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

Excellent video. The only disagreement I have, is the reference to keyboard music as 'opera without words'. I think opera is much less accessible than instrumental music because it requires an understanding of the story, and the sentiment behind the words (meaning) to fully appreciate the music. Opera is not 'just' music, it's a mixture of artforms that are difficult to appreciate in isolation.

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

Actually, I meant 'more difficult to appreciate in isolation'.

[sk8nruff]

I can see how that could happen. What happens if you get a piece of music that's just as dramatic as opera but obviously costs less to put it on because there's no need for a set, singers, costumes, and a large band? Classical music is composed with things like meter, key, gestures, and other "sign posts" which give you hints as to the action taking place, much like stagings. Composers/players/concert goers were familiar with these ideas back then. Would it be difficult if is was well written?

[mlanza73]

I think Robert Levin refered to keybord music as "opera without words" in the sense in which one could create with the instrumental voices an entire dramaturgie, like an "opera".So I understood:)

[chrish12345]

i completely disagree with that - the music in opera doesn't require an understanding of the story at all to be understood as music. If you transposed any piece of music from any opera for piano, one doesn't suddenly gain an 'accessible' meaning that one didn't have before, or if one put words to a piano tune one wouldn't suddenly loose the musical sense of meaning.

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

I said to FULLY appreciate the music. There is no doubt that story and meaning strongly influence musical decisions in operatic composition, choices that are more easily appreciated within the context of the libretto (e.g. a sudden dramatic orchestral 'burst' interrupting a theme or melody, because some gloomy character has entered the set)...

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

...And, I'm not one for semiotic analyses in music; the idea that one can write Beethoven's memoirs by listening to his piano sonatas, or that every phrase has some reference to his struggle with deafness or love. Most of it is pure speculation, and I don't think composers think about music in this way. But in the case of opera, I think meaning is quite often conveyed at the expense of musical coherence.

[sk8nruff]

You are perfectly right. Composition pre-Romanticism didn't have anything to do with the crap the composer was feeling, it was a form of work. The same goes for performance of earlier music. You've done your job as a performer/composer if you get the listeners/players to understand the affect of the piece. I'm sure they don't want to know how badly you slept or whether you'll get over that nasty flu.

[IsaacIsaiahMusic]

Excellent video. The only disagreement I have, is the reference to keyboard music as 'opera without words'. I think opera is much less accessible than instrumental music because it requires an understanding of the story, and the sentiment behind the words (meaning) to fully appreciate the music. Opera is not 'just' music, it's a mixture of artforms that are difficult to appreciate in isolation.

[301250]

Thank you, merci, danke, xiexienie, terima kasih for this instructive post which now enables me finally to hear Levin talk about Mozart. His wonderful Mozart Dminor concerto with Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music I regard as a very special one indeed. sd goh (malaysia)