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The Classical Period

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

(1756-91)

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Key Terms & Concepts

Singspiel

Double-exposition sonata form

( = Ritornello-sonata form)Opera seria

Opera buffa

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)

Child prodigy as a performer

and composer Toured Europe from ages 6-17

with father Leopold & sister

Nannerl (b. 1751), both

musicians

Leopold: performer & composer

for Archbishop of Salzburg

Met J.C. Bach in London,

studied counterpoint with Padre

Martini in Italy, was influenced

by music of Haydn (Austria),

Sammartini (Italy), Schobert (a

Parisian writer of keyboard

works)

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The Mozart

Family

left: c. 1763

right: c. 1781

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Mozart in Salzburg: 1773-1781 Wrote 13 piano sonatas, serenades and divertimenti

for instrumental ensembles, and violin and pianoconcerti; also, an opera (Idomeneo, 1781) for a

commission from Munich

Traveled with

mom to Paris& 3 German

cities in 1777;

no job offers!

Mother died,

1778

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Mozart in Vienna: 1781-1791 Vienna: the largest & fastest-growing German-

speaking city at this time

Mozart initially earned a living by performing (publicly

& privately), teaching piano and composition, and a

successful singspiel, Die Entfhrung aus dem Serail(The Abduction from the Harem, 1782)

Mozart had increasingmoney problems:

Financial mismanagement

Shrinking income

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Mozart in Vienna: 1781-1791

Musical style: synthesis of Galant & Learned styles Influences of Haydn, Bach & Handel (the latter 2 via

Baron von Swieten)

In Vienna, he composed

in all major genres, esp.:

11 Piano sonatas

16 String quartets

Instrumental quintets 6 Symphonies

17 Piano concertos

7 Operas

Sacred music (Requiem)

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Piano Sonata in F Major, K. 332, I(Anthology, p. 182-189 CD 8:1)

3 distinct melodies in the Primary Theme (P):

Songlike (mm. 1-4)

Imitative counterpoint (mm. 5-12)

Horn call (mm. 13-22, note arpeggiation of left hand part:like the overtone series on a natural horn)

Mm. 22: Sturm und drang (storm and stress) style

Minor key, fast rhythms, dissonance, chromaticism, loud

Development begins with new melody (common for Mozart,rare in other composers works, who usually use P or S)

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Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488, I(Anthology, pp. 190-223; CD 8:9)

Double-exposition sonata form(common name) a.k.a. Ritornello-

Sonata form (textbooks term) Some

unusual aspects:

Second Ritornello (m. 137: uses Trand a New Theme to introduce the

Solo Development; this pattern

recurs for the Fourth Ritornello (m.

284) Third Ritornello (m. 198) begins the

Recapitulation, instead of letting the

solo piano reintroduce A Major

The Solo Recapitulation concludeswith the New Theme

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Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488, I

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Don Giovanni

Set to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte (poet for the Imperialtheater, later a professor at Columbia University); he wrote

libretti for Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don

Giovanni (October 1787), and Cos fan tutti (1790)

Premiered in Prague; revived in Vienna in May 1788

Don Juan is recast as a rebel against authority, not just a

womanizer

The plot uses characters from Opera Seria and Opera Buffa

Shocking: It is a comedy which begins with an onstage murder( is that really funny?)

Shows Mozarts mastery of ensemble pieces and continuous

sections to build dramatic tension

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Don Giovanni

Shows Mozarts mastery of ensemble pieces and continuoussections to build dramatic tension

Ex/ from Act I (AriaTrioDramatic actionClosing trio)

(Anthology, pp. 249-271, CD 8:36):

Leporello opens the scene by complaining in an operabuffa style

Donna Anna & Don Giovanni sing in an opera seriastyle,

while Leporello frets

A duel between Giovanni & Annas father ends in thelatters death

A trio laments the unfortunate action

Don Giovanni and Leporello return to comic banter