mozart recital

[gerryjay]

hi there!
i plan to make an all-mozart recital late in this year, and i'm wondering about its program. if you want to help me, please comment what do you think about that:

 adagio k. 540
 variations k. 455

 (intermission)

 sonata k. 332
 fantasia k. 397

 oh, yes...the second part i stolen from a mitsuko uchida recording...

 i didn't play it complete yet, but i think that time must be around 28 minutes in the first part, and 25 minutes in the second.

 would you like to attend to a recital like that? why?
 thanks for any comment!

 best wishes!

 

[burstroman]

Hi, Yes, I would love to attend a recital like yours.  An all Mozart recital sounds appealing.  As an encore, please play the Gigue in G major, K. 574.  If you ever give another all Mozart recital please include the Rondo in A minor.  Best of luck to you.

[gerryjay]

hey burstro!
thank you very much for your words. it's funny that just yesterday i started my study reading the a minor rondo, and i thought: well... where would it fit in my program? 

anyway, i want first to complete the variations (that are not that difficult, but have some tricky parts) to see then what to do.

about the encore, thanks a lot for your suggestion. it's a bright piece, and i like it. another idea i had is the adagio for glassharmonica. perhaps if i'm required to play two encores...

thanks again!
best wishes!

[sharon_f]

I absolutely love every piece listed. I heard the Variations a couple years back played stunningly by Shai Wosner and had to learn them. They are so much fun and seldom performed.

I would, however, consider the order. Opening with the Adagio might be a little tough on the audience. It is quite long and takes a lot of concentration. I would probably open with the Fantasia. It's relatively short at app. 6 minutes and will be familiar to most listeners. It is a great way to open the program. I would then follow it with the Sonata. After the interval is the time for a more reflective and introspective work like the Adagio. I would then close with the Variations. They are very brilliant, have moments of great humor, crossing hands (audiences love that  ) and end very brilliantly. (I don't like the way Uchida and several other play the coda with the upward scale diminishing to a sort of pianissimo joke.) But that's just my two-cents.

Sharon

[thalbergmad]

Add a little Clementi for contrast. Your audience would love it.

Thal

[ahinton]

I must admit that, like Thal (by implication), I'm rather less than convinced that Mozart can actually stand an entire recital devoted to his keyboard works.

Best,

Alistair

[gerryjay]

hi sharon!
thanks for your suggestion. i'll probably play that a lot more than once, and thus some ideas to give another balance to the program is interesting to me. your version is particularly cool because it gives a completely different approach to this repertory. i'll try it for sure!
best!

[thalbergmad]

I would struggle with an hour of Mozart myself, but i guess there are many that would not. Saying that, I cannot think of a concert i would attend if there was only one composer on offer.

I do think sharon f had a valid point about opening with the Adagio. Changing the order of a concert can make all the difference.

Thal

[gerryjay]

dear thal!
although the idea of a lost clementi in the mid of mozart is fascinating, i must attach myself to the latter now. this recital is part of a greater project, and the time to play a triunvirate recital (haydn, mozart, beethoven) and a all-round classical (including from clementi to salieri and from them to hummel and so on) will come.
btw, would you have some ideas of very uncommon works of the classical period that you like?
thanks and best wishes!

[ahinton]

Saying that, I cannot think of a concert i would attend if there was only one composer on offer.

Wot?! Not even Chopin, Liszt or Alkan? - or Bach, or Beethoven? Sorabji, of course, is a different case in that some of his works fill an entire programme in themselves in the sense that there'd be no realistic room for anything else - so, leaving aside whatever your own prejudices may be about him, what of that idea of single-programme works, in your view? What would you expect to be programmed with the complete Iberia of Albéniz, for example? (or don't you believe that the entire cycle stands up on its own?). Seriously, few composers can stand up to an entire programme devoted to their own works alone, but let's hear it for those who can!...

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

btw, would you have some ideas of very uncommon works of the classical period that you like?
thanks and best wishes!

I will have a think on this one for you. It is a bit too late in the day for me.

Apart from Clementi, i am particularly impressed with Dussek and Woelfl (wolfl).

Good luck with the concert.

Thal

[gerryjay]

dear alistair (and thal for that matter):
i know that some people would hate another mozart recital, or his works played, but - that will sound obvious - i love his music, and i really think i can make something interesting out of these four particular works. i hope the audiences agree to me...
one thing made me curious: why do you think his music can't stand a full recital?
thanks for that and any further comment!
best wishes!

[gerryjay]

I will have a think on this one for you. It is a bit too late in the day for me.

Apart from Clementi, i am particularly impressed with Dussek and Woelfl (wolfl).

Good luck with the concert.

Thal

thanks again! and i'll look forward for your suggestions. btw, dussek is an interesting composer; woelfl i didn't listen very much, but i'll do that for sure.
best!

[thalbergmad]

Wot?! Not even Chopin, Liszt or Alkan? - or Bach, or Beethoven?

No, but i would attend a concert that had all or most of them. No idea what to programme with the Albeniz, I have listened to it once and that was more than enough.

I would have thought that single composer concerts are not really geared for the average concert goer. Even the great Busoni bombed out when he played the last 3 Beethoven sonatas at the Wigmore.

An all Sorabji concert would probably be a good method to get information from terrorists.

You are leading me off topic.

Thal

[general disarray]

Well, an all-Mozart recital sounds to me to be an exemplary project, but one suited more for academia than anything else.

Mozart, in big doses, gives me hives.  I start to itch at all that tastefulness and utterly poised restraint.  And I refer to the solo keyboard works which, I humbly feel, lack the inspiration and drama found in his operas, concerti, selected chamber works and late symphonies.

Personally, i would never buy a ticket to an all-Mozart solo piano recital unless you were a friend of mine doing a recital to fulfill an advanced degree requirement.

That said, I admire your bravery.  I think Mozart is terrifying to play.  And an entire recital?  Unimaginable.

[gerryjay]

hi general!
yes, i agree about the academic flavor of that, but that's what i am: a child from academia. 

about your comment of his music in general and his piano music, well, i disagree, but i think the same about schumann.

one important thing: my recitals will be ticketless, absolutely for free. otherwise, i don't think i'd have something to call "audience"

last, but really not least, thanks for your words. mozart is something really meaningful to me, and every time i talk about this recital, live or through our forum, i feel more and more that this was a good idea. hope the public agree...

best!

[welltemperedpianist]

hey Gerryjay,

as a huge fan of Mozart, I would definitely enjoy attending an all-Mozart concert! 
I think someone mentioned it, but I would probably not start with the Adagio. I would definitely reserve it for after the intermission, so third on the program would be the perfect spot. Starting with the Sonata would be nice, or maybe the Fantasia.

of course, in Mozart's days, they never had "piano recitals" nor did they have a single composer concert. Nonetheless, I think the program would be interesting-- even if it does not include other Classical composers. But if you were to add another composer of the era, take a look at Carl Maria von Weber-- his Sonata in A Flat major (Op. 39). His music's really advanced for his age and requires much more virtuosity -- maybe it would be nice to contrast with the more melodic Mozart. Also, perhaps if you want to include someone else for an encore, his Rondo Brilliante Op. 62 would be nice to conclude an all Mozart/classical recital.

as for Hummel -- he is a true classicist, even though he comes during the brink of Romanticism... I would say he's more "classical" than Beethoven! Take a look at Piano Sonata Op. 13

Hope this helps!

[gerryjay]

dear wtp:
yes, it helps a lot.

it's good to know that people would like to attend that. about the adagio, i want to try something different, but i really agree that its "better" moment would be after the intermission. starting with the sonata...well, i don't feel safe to do that. the fantasia or the adagio will give me more space to cool down, feel both audience and space, and start making music.

what you said about the practice in the times of mozart, makes me think about some strange pitfalls of the authentic practice. an authentic mozart recital is anything but authentic, don't you think?

about your suggestions for my classical recital, they are more than welcome. i really want to play a different, not normally played sonata, and both your ideas are great.

thanks again, and best wishes!

[welltemperedpianist]

what you said about the practice in the times of mozart, makes me think about some strange pitfalls of the authentic practice. an authentic mozart recital is anything but authentic, don't you think?

Hey Gerryjay,

In referring to authentic practice, I wasn't saying to aim for one-- as you said, an all Mozart recital definitely wouldn't be one you would see in a program back then (or now, as a matter of fact). I was actually suggesting it would be interesting if you were to have a "classical" recital, it would be interesting for it to seem somewhat like a concert in the time period -- with the mixture of composers (and of course, minus the improvisation and the orchestral/concerto pieces).

Anyway, I think your reasoning for having the Adagio is valid-- and an interesting endeavor. Good luck with the recital!

-- Oh and to comment here also, on the Mozart thread -- dont you think Mozart is overlooked by so many musicians as "easy" and "boring"?? I think they're nothing more pure and other-worldly than Mozart's music.

[imbetter]

hi general!
yes, i agree about the academic flavor of that, but that's what i am: a child from academia. 

about your comment of his music in general and his piano music, well, i disagree, but i think the same about schumann.

one important thing: my recitals will be ticketless, absolutely for free. otherwise, i don't think i'd have something to call "audience"

last, but really not least, thanks for your words. mozart is something really meaningful to me, and every time i talk about this recital, live or through our forum, i feel more and more that this was a good idea. hope the public agree...

best!

try and  understand that an all mozart recitle is by no means a great idea no matter how its played.

[gerryjay]

-- Oh and to comment here also, on the Mozart thread -- dont you think Mozart is overlooked by so many musicians as "easy" and "boring"?? I think they're nothing more pure and other-worldly than Mozart's music.

dear wtp:
i agree with you. some people seems to blame on mozart the fact that he didn't composed something ordinarily difficult and sparkling. his music is not like this and - furthermore - his period don't give a fingernail to this kind of fetish that so many fellows seem to aprecciate, something like "if it is not hard enough, it's not good enough".

yes, mozart lacks any kind of virtuosistic display, and that is - to myself - what makes his music incredible difficult. as happen to bach also, you have something so perfectly balanced in your hands that bringing it to life without making a mess is quite hard, sometimes almost impossible. 
in the other hand, much music that is considered great is only varnish. as an example, liszt: he's a composer i really like, he had some moments of absolute and pure genius, but he easily fell into nothing. perhaps because i have the coincidence of a great facility with fast figurations, scales and the like, when a piece reduces itself to that, it sounds really easy and boring to me. 

i'm not original saying that, but i could tell: show me a good interpretation of his sonata kv 332 and i show you a notable and outstanding pianist. 

best!

[gerryjay]

try and  understand that an all mozart recitle is by no means a great idea no matter how its played.

well, if you don't like it, it's very simple: don't attend.
best!

[gerryjay]

I was actually suggesting it would be interesting if you were to have a "classical" recital, it would be interesting for it to seem somewhat like a concert in the time period -- with the mixture of composers (and of course, minus the improvisation and the orchestral/concerto pieces).

ops...almost forgotten to comment it.
that's one of my next projects. after playing the mozart recital a couple of times, i'd probably play aa all-chopin. then, for the beggining of the next year, i plan to pick up one of the mozart works, and join haydn, beethoven, and much more. btw, your idea makes me think about a real varied recital, just like it would happen at that time...let's see whats comes out of that!
thanks again for your comments and words of incentive!
best wishes!

[welltemperedpianist]

try and  understand that an all mozart recitle is by no means a great idea no matter how its played.

What an ignorant comment! I hope you dont listen to his comment-- if I had an option, I would definitely enjoy attending your concert -- as would many people.

I definitely agree with you on your comment on Mozart and it being considered "easy". Recently, someone at my music school is learning some sonata for a recital-- I feel like he added it just for the sake of adding a classical piece. I dont know how but he makes it sound like Rachmaninoff! Extremely fast tempo and huge chords.

Anyway, I would choose to listen to a piece by Mozart any day over a flashy, emotionally vapid piece by Liszt (ok-- maybe I am exaggerating, and if people read this, they'd attack me) but I really have to say, an all-Liszt recital would bore me to death... the same old flashy scales and crazy technique, but lacking serious emotional depths. Afterall, that's what people want-- and not accidentally, does Liszt say something along the lines of "I play for the public".

Your ideas of an all-Chopin recital would also be interesting-- maybe vary his piano works. Though please avoid an all-Rachmaninoff/Liszt recital!! I've heard a recital like this before-- it was like hearing 5 encore pieces for the whole recital!

[gerryjay]

I dont know how but he makes it sound like Rachmaninoff! Extremely fast tempo and huge chords.

The odd thing is that happens a lot with pre-beethovinian music: some pianists have some kind of urgent need of punch the piano...probably, there is a reason beyond my scope. a remarkable example of this is busoni's chaconne version. well, i actually like it, but it is anything but bach.

Your ideas of an all-Chopin recital would also be interesting-- maybe vary his piano works. Though please avoid an all-Rachmaninoff/Liszt recital!! I've heard a recital like this before-- it was like hearing 5 encore pieces for the whole recital!

rofl...yeap, depending on the choice of repertoire, it will sound like "omg, i arrived too late for this recital...miss the whole thing...well, at least there are some encores to entertain myself..."
about chopin, i want a very well-balanced selection, with anything but a sonata. so, it points me toward a scherzo (after completing the ballade) and that will be rather a challenge. let's see what happen.
now, i would like to do an all-liszt recital, provided i could play his mighty sonata as a second part, and a bunch of things as first, such as nuages gris, the second elegie, the petrarca sonetti, something from harmonies poetiques, and something very obscure.
but rach...although i like some of his pieces, i don't like his music that much.

best!

[pianistimo]

how about a mozart concerto (two pianos) in there somewhere's?  one that has a mozart cadenza, preferably.   the inspiration, to me, from hearing mozart - is the staging.  He was a natural born shakespeare of piano.  In fact, a little vocal music - along with piano would make me extremely happy to hear an all-mozart recital.  Maybe even a bit of violin.  Mozart was an all-around musician and not JUST a pianist.  I say that with tongue in cheek because he was foremost a pianist - but he could probably understand the instruments of the time better than the people who were playing.  He understood ranges perfectly.  He understood tone and beauty.  Symmetry.  Showing this from different angles is like seeing a diamond that is really true. 

[gerryjay]

how about a mozart concerto (two pianos) in there somewhere's? one that has a mozart cadenza, preferably. the inspiration, to me, from hearing mozart - is the staging. He was a natural born shakespeare of piano. In fact, a little vocal music - along with piano would make me extremely happy to hear an all-mozart recital. Maybe even a bit of violin. Mozart was an all-around musician and not JUST a pianist. I say that with tongue in cheek because he was foremost a pianist - but he could probably understand the instruments of the time better than the people who were playing. He understood ranges perfectly. He understood tone and beauty. Symmetry. Showing this from different angles is like seeing a diamond that is really true.

dear pianistimo:
thank you very much for commenting!

about your suggestions, i didn't actually think about that because this is a solo piano recital, but i must admit that they're cool. a pair of songs would fit nicely in the program, and i already can think about a friend that will love to do that for sure. what about, for the second part: adagio - songs - variations?

well, that leads directly towards a more varied mozart recital, doesn't it? thinking a second, it would not be difficult to arrange something like that: a violin sonata (KV 304 is the one i love the most), a concerto, and a selection of songs, interspread with some pieces or movements for solo piano. yeap...that is quite a nice idea!

best wishes!

[point of grace]

yes of course id love listening to you.
great idea
bye!!!!

[gerryjay]

dear grace!
how long since we talk last time? how have you been?
i'm glad you like the idea. hope i'm able to play it soon!
mis saludos!