Playing Mozart

[barnowl]

I want to start taking piano lessons, but I thought I might confine my efforts to Mozart's music. Sometimes, I think his music is too good for human ears.

It seems to me that Mozart's music  is best played  somewhere between legato and staccato. I don't know what the term is, but each note seems to come into existence almost magically, with a space, however tiny, between the preceding and the following note. Certainly, Alfred Brendel plays Mozart that way and the effect is absolutely breathtaking.

So, please. Tell me how to practice — not legato, not staccato, but (for lack of a better term) Mozarto.  .

Of course, I'll have zillions of questions as I proceed along my musical path, but this is a good start — I hope.

[steve jones]

The pieces I have tried usually have pretty clear indications when these articulations are required.

SJ

[abell88]

 somewhere between legato and staccato

This is called portato. As for practising it, it's a matter of trying and listening...

[steve jones]

Portato?

Lol, Iv not heard of that one before. Is it like Tormato? 

SJ

[teresa_b]

Hi Barnowl,

I absolutely adore Mozart, too  .  And as much as you might want to revel ONLY in Mozart, if I were you would bite the bullet and also study some other composers, too! 

If you study some Bach, you will improve your technique for other types of music.  Also, studying Beethoven's similarities and differences from Mozart make for improved understanding of techniques in playing both.  You can extrapolate this to many other composers of different eras, too.

As for the Mozart "touch", it is difficult!  I have done 5 of his concertos and 3 of his sonatas, so I know whereof you speak.  You described it well, and you know what you want.  So...

--Get a good teacher!

--Practice scales and Mozart passages with different touches and dynamics, etc.  --staccato, legato--and try for that light touch, until you hear it coming out right!

--Then, LISTEN to yourself closely.  Never get mechanical or too detached, always remember the flowing nature of Mozart. 

--Don't be too reserved, but not over-romantic either.  Never syrupy, always fresh!

Have fun!   
Teresa

[steve jones]

I found that as a beginner / intermediate student, Bach helped me a great deal when starting Mozart sonatas. I usually detach quavers slightly when playing Bach, so this might be a good start to developing the so called Mozart touch.

I dont profess any command over this technique mind, so take this advise with a pinch of salt!

SJ