Friday, April 26

Mozart's Piano Sonatas through the eyes of Alfred Einstein - Part 4 (K. 309)

That Mozart is the greatest musical talent the world has ever seen, is quite undisputable. I just cannot imagine how it is possible for him to play a magnificent sonata, such as the one in C (K. 309) "all of a sudden.... out of his head" (his words)... What lies behind such a mind-blowing explosion of talent?...

Here is the history of Sonata in C (K.309), as copied from Einstein's book on Mozart:

Sonata in C and the one in D (K. 311), "must be called Mannheim sonatas, since both were either written out or completed in Mannheim. We are particularly well informed about the circumstances attending the composition of the first one. Mozart had improvised it in his last concert in Augsburg, on 22 October [1777]; or to be more accurate, he had improvised the first and last movements, with a different slow movement. 'I then played ... all of a sudden a magnificent sonata in C major, out of my head, with a rondo at the end - full of din and sound', he wrote in a letter of 24 October 1777. The characterization applies to both the first and last movements, particularly the passages in the rondo that have thirty-second note tremoli; but Mozart forgot to mention the subtlety with which he had brought this movement, 'full of din and sound', to a pianissimo ending. Both movements are full of pianistic brilliance, the first being like a transcription of a C major Salzburg symphony for a Stein piano. But the middle movement, an Andante un poco adagio, was not simply written down from memory in Mannheim, but rather freshly composed, for in it Mozart sought to paint the character of Mlle Cannabich, daughter of his new friend, the Kapellmeister Cannabich. [...] The movement is a 'tender' and 'sensitive' andante, containing ever more richly ornamented repetitions of the theme".

Here is the Sonata in C, K 309, performed by Zoltan Kocsis.


Wednesday, April 24

Mozart's Piano Sonatas through the eyes of Alfred Einstein - Part 3 (K. 284)

"Quite unique among the sonatas of this series [Einstein refers to the set of the first six sonatas] is the one in D (K. 284), composed in February or March 1775 in Munich for a music-lover of that city, Baron Thaddaus von Durnitz. The beginning of the first movement survives in an earlier version, appropriately in the style of the other works of this series, but Durnitz must have stated that he wished something different, more brilliant, in the 'French style' - or Mozart himself must have had a personal or musical experience that suddenly lifted him to a new and higher level. What was this experience? We do not know; but shall we not simply assume that a miracle had taken place, in one of those fortunate hours of inspiration, without which no advances in art would be possible?"

 We are so fortunate to be able to "experience" this miracle, not simply talk about it... So, here is the 1st movement (Allegro) (Ushida, piano):



Let's move on to the other movements...

"The first movement is followed by a Polonaise en Rondeau, in which the theme returns in ever more elaborate  texture, and then there comes, for the first time in a Mozart piano sonata, a 'tema con variazioni' - all this, including the second version of the first movement, having a sensuous richness and a concerto like animation, which is a perpetual source of wonder. Particularly remarkable is the sonority and the unity of the variations. [...] Not even the somewhat old-fashioned and lengthy adagio variation interrupts the flow of the creative imagination."

Mozart has written Themes and Variations before this sonata. But it is here that he goes much deeper than simply a virtuoso display. Let me also add that, for the first time, we come across a Minor variation...

So, here is the Tema con Variationi, performed by Andras Schiff.


  









Sunday, April 21

Mozart's Piano Sonatas through the eyes of Alfred Einstein - Part 2 (K. 281)

Let's move on to Sonata K. 281 (in B-flat major). Einstein is particularly interested in the 3rd movement (Rondeau). Here is what he has to say:

"In the B-flat major Sonata (K. 281), of which the first two movements seem more like Haydn than Haydn himself, we are suddenly faced, in the Finale, with Mozart at his most characteristic and individual. Haydn and even Johann Christian [Bach] are forgotten. If the date of this rondo, with its air of a modest concerto and its melodic grace, were not so definitely fixed, we should certainly place it ten years later, in the Vienna period."

Here is the splendid Rondeau from this Sonata, performed by Mitsuko Ushida - one of the best "Mozartian" pianists of our era.


  

Saturday, April 20

Mozart's Piano Sonatas through the eyes of Alfred Einstein - Part 1 (K. 279)

Alfred Einstein's book on Mozart, "Mozart, his Character, his Work" (Oxford University Press) is, in my view, one of the best written on the subject. I would like to share with you his (very interesting) thoughts and comments on the composer's piano sonatas
Let's begin with the first sonata, in C major (K. 279):

"Mozart was a born pianist, while Haydn always thought in terms of the quartet or the orchestra. How often in Haydn's piano style one feels the translation from another instrumental sphere, while in Mozart everything flows smoothly under the hand. Thus it seems to me that the first sonata of the series, the one in C major (K. 279), must have been written before the "divagation". It gives the impression of an impovisation; the tones of the instrument sound in direct response to Mozart's imagination; this is how he must have played when he was in the vein and improvised a sonata. When other composers have displayed their ideas, one after the other, they repeat them in the recapitulation. But in this work nothing is mechanical; Mozart's fantasy is continually active in every detail. In the Andante, which is otherwise thouroughly Italian, this fact shows itself in the dynamics."  

Here is Mozart's piano sonata K. 279, (not sure who the pianist is, but it's an excellent performance!):