Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner In which I compare Mozart to wallpaper

Call me crazy, but I am really not that into Mozart. If music can be compared to visual arts, Mozart's music seems like wallpaper to me. Yeah, it is nice, structured, everything fits together perfectly, no harsh sounds, nothing out of place...but really, I could say that about the wallpaper in my bathroom. His music doesn't move me. In fact, I find it rather...(dare I say it?) boring.

Does anyone feel the same way? Anyone feel like bashing me over the head with a baseball bat?

I think Romantic and 20th century music is generally more appealing to teenagers. Just an opinion.

No big deal if you don't like a particular composer now or even later.

Try these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE2muDZksP4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGvHN3fKUco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxcjxN0rPzs

I'm not a violent person, so, no.
But do yourself a favour. Go and see a really good performance of The Marriage of Figaro.

Hmm, typo or sarcasm?

Anyway, I was always more moved by his orchestral works than his piano works.

I think you have a point there. But I also love Baroque music, and even Haydn. I don't know...for me Mozart is so formal he totally leaves out all vestiges of life.

Ok, I will if I ever have the chance.

(Of course I thought I should point out that I am generalizing a bit)

I used to feel the same way. I described my conversion in a thread several months back; here's what I said:

***

For what it's worth... I used to feel a little similar. There was some Mozart I loved (the A minor sonata's first movement, the K.414 concerto's last movement, the Requiem). But by and large, I found a lot of Mozart to be boring, partly because I didn't think the compositions had enough individual character. Whereas every Beethoven sonata had its own unique personality, all of the Mozart sonatas tended to blend into each other.

But do keep an open mind. Mozart suddenly changed for me, one day four years ago when it just all clicked. I felt like I'd been using the wrong criteria. Instead of criticizing a lack of bold ideas that would have given these pieces the individual character I thought was missing, I was able to experience, for the first time, that simple flow and beauty which unifies all his music. To use a random Tolkien reference, I started viewing Mozart's pieces like elves: deep and graceful, but not necessarily well-developed individually, their depth coming from something collective. Whereas Beethoven's sonatas are like 32 distinct eccentric geniuses.

-J

(WA is not a teenager.)

But you're right.

I like listening to Mozart, but I don't just LOVE and ADORE listening to Mozart.

HOWEVER, I greatly enjoy practicing and playing Mozart's music! Sonata K. 331 1st movement was a great learning experience for me, and had a wide range of moods, the 2nd movement (my favorite) was just SO beautiful, and actually fairly deep for Mozart, and the 3rd movement Rondo Alla Turca... Well, it's played a lot among younger students, but I got to brag to the rest of them about playing the whole sonata. And the Concerto 21 in C Major K. 467 1st movement was a BLAST. Although I wish I knew all three movements...

I like that
Sometimes I just wonder if Mozart's music has artistic value. (But then again, I wonder what "artistic value" actually is)



Ummmm yes I am, thank you very much. ???



I am generalizing. There are a few pieces by Mozart that stand out, and that is one of them.

Oh, I forgot. Give or take a couple months, hehe.

Wow. All I can say is your soul must be made of ice. No life? Listen to the last movement of 488 and tell me you've heard another composer having so much fun. I can think of only a small handful of composers so full of life such as that found in Mozart's sheer.

Is Mendelssohn one of them? I often find a feeling of "life" in his music, too.

Honestly, no. I'm not saying it's not there, but he doesn't jump to mind in this instance.

Oh. Who are some others, then?

Bach, Beethoven and Chopin come to mind immediately.

Yeah, it's fun. But it's not like "real" life. In Mozart you always know what's coming next, or at least it's never completely unexpected.

However, who knows. I may be converted yet. I daresay in a few years I'll be head over heels in love with Mozart...

I'm like you WinsomeAllegretto, I haven't heard very much Mozart that I like, but I consider his Requiem to be one of my favorite works of music. Have you heard it?

I've heard parts of it, but not all. I'll have to look it up.

That is a good attitude to have. Just because Mozart hasn't yet touched doesn't mean that his music never will. Keep an open mind and be prepared for a revelation.

If you want a somewhat prosaic - OK, maybe even crappy ( word I never use!) - metaphor: Mozart's music can be likened to a lake on summer's day. All the bright glitter of the sunshine on the waters prevents one from seeing the hidden depths, allowing one to enjoy only the superficial beauty. But suddenly, when the light is right and the surface stills, you see just how deep the lake is, and how Mozart's music, to continue the metaphor, does plumb the depths of the human experience to a much greater degree than one initially felt.

There is great representation of the human condition in the music of Mozart, you just have to know that some day it will most likely reveal itself to you. Be glad when it does; be sorry for what you'll miss if it doesn't.

Regards,

Well, not me.


Ditto.

I gotta wonder if maybe you haven't heard really good performances of Mozart.
Probably more than any other composer, Mozart depends on excellent performance.