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All things Mozart.

To get things rolling, I guess I'll ask everyone what they consider to be his magnum opus, if he has one.

Multi-multi-way tie!

Just off the top of my head, and with apologies to the dozens of equally or more worthy ones I'm leaving out (and of course with a piano bias but I'll try to suppress it a little) -- and I do mean truly and literally that to me, any of these could be said to be at the top, and for me at various times have been:

(we'll probably run out of paper before I'm done with this list)

Don't ask me to pick just one of these; I couldn't.

Sinfonia Concertante for violin & viola
Sinfonia Concertante for Winds (even though we don't have his whole original version)
Clarinet Concerto
Clarinet Quintet
Sonata for Piano and Violin (violinists like to put it the other way around) in E minor
Sonata for Piano and Violin in B♭ major, K. 454
Sonata for 2 pianos, K. 448
Concerto for 2 pianos, K. 365
Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 310
Piano Sonata in D major, K. 576
Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Viola, K. 498
Piano Quartet in G minor
String Quintet in G minor
Piano Concerto in B♭ major, K. 595
Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466
Piano Concerto in A major, K. 488
Piano Concerto in F major, K. 459 (a special favorite)
Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453
(I fulfilled a lifelong wish when I was house-sitting a bird, and played a recording of the last movement while hearing the bird tweeting)
Symphony # 41 (G minor)
Symphony #40 (C major, Jupiter)
Symphony # 39 (E♭ major)
The "Queen of the Night" Aria from The Magic Flute (when not sung by Florence Foster Jenkins
......and that's all without even mentioning the Requiem, or any of the other operas

His magnum opus is probably his Requiem. Or perhaps one of his operas like The Magic Flute or Don Giovanni. It's hard to choose because every he has brilliant works in almost every genre.

I think made you a mistake.

Darn, yeah!!
And actually it was a double mistake by me:
First of all, not being sure which was , which, and typing it wrong.
But, before posting, I checked, saw that I had it wrong, and so I reversed the numbers (supposedly).
Evidently it didn't "take."

So, it was:
(1) a memory mistake, and then
(2) a spastic mistake.


BTW: Good eye!!

I've loved this piece for years, but we don't have a verified original version at all. The piece surfaced for the first time in 1869 and its authenticity is highly in question.

BTW, are you really putting some of those works up against the Requiem and Cm mass? I mean, the Sinfonia Concertante for Winds... against the mass?

You're a great quick study.

You singled out the piece that I'd say is certainly my oddest inclusion.

Remember, we're being asked our opinions, and in my little opinion "magnum opus" can have different meanings.
I'm including the meaning of "most loved at a particular moment."

The piece happens to have a special significance to me, because of how I came upon it and what it 'inspired' in me.
(long story)

For sure it doesn't belong on that list on any objective basis, but I wasn't meaning to be entirely "objective."

BTW, regarding this what you said:


Long after I came across the piece and loved it, I discovered that a prominent pianist/musicologist, Robert Levin, who I happened to sort of know (even turned pages for him at a couple of concerts -- I love turning pages) had done a major study of the piece, including:
-- writing a huge "whodunit" book on the origin and authenticity of the work
Robert Levin's book
(the second appearing review is mine, even though a different name is shown)
-- doing a fabulous "re-construction" of the work, which I've had the pleasure of hearing in concert.

The book is tough reading, because of how detailed and painstaking it is, but as detailed-painstaking books go it's great.

He makes a very convincing case that the basic work really is Mozart -- I'd say that part of it is undeniable -- and a very good case on specific aspects of it, including that originally it was for a different instrumentation than the common version.

I knew he had done work on the piece. I wasn't aware he had written a book on it though. I might check this out. Thanks, Marcia.

About this thing:

In case anyone's skeptical about that idea ....check it out yourself!

Simple:
Just click on both of these and listen to them going at the same time.
It's pretty much what I heard that time.

There is no such thing as magnum opus when it comes to Mozart because he wrote so many works that are greater than anything humans have written. He is in a category all by himself.

It is very difficult as he wrote masterpieces in just any genre of music, several operas are outstanding, quintet k515 and k516, the k427 mass, the requiem, concerto for clarinet, piano concerto 21, 25, 27, several quartets, symphony 39, 40, 41, 35, Piano sonatas, ....

Even in some of his lesser known pieces there are gems.

The piece that I'm loving most and working on right now is a Mozart piece that I didn't even mention in that list of about 10,000 Mozart pieces.

I really love his piano sonatas and piano concertos although they aren't necessarily his magnum opus. And of course the Requiem but some parts of it are not composed or finalized by Mozart.

Besides everything already mentioned, I really love his "Ave verum corpus" K.618 motet. Of course it's not a magnum opus and is a rather short work but it always soothes my mind and gives me peace. I've sung the bass part, as well as accompanied it on organ many times at my parent's church when I was young.

Any of the three Lorenzo Da Ponte operas (Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Cosí fan tutte) would be sufficient to confirm Wolfie as a musical genius. They all show his profound understanding of human nature, with musical pathos livened up with comedy.

Slapstick humour combined with deep seriousness is even more evident in his last opera, the Singspiel Die Zauberflöte, again another masterpiece with even more memorable but simple tunes that Beethoven couldn't get out of his head.

The ambiguity of mood (and even of 'musical message') in his music has always fascinated scholars through the ages, who try to analyze how he achieved it - sometimes with just a single unexpected accidental within a simple phrase that throws doubts into one's mind as to what he really meant. That's why, though his style is very easy to imitate (not to mention parodied, by the likes of Victor Borge among others), it's impossible to replicate.

For example, in the opening Kyrie - and just listen to the transition to the solo soprano:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsiP4-mCnQ0

Another example: his late concerto for a wind instrument, which no other composer has come anywhere close to matching, not just in sheer memorability of the music, but also in his understanding of the instrument itself. How can such a simple tune, using straightforward harmonies that any first-year student will know, sound so profound - and yet ambiguous?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxgmorK61YQ

Mozart used in an unusual way:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3034947326595661

Oh, and don't forget his violin concertos - they are short, but they are gems. Used to have a recording of Yehudi Menuhin playing them. One short piece I listen to a lot is Laudate Dominum in A, K321 (according t the CD label - I assume that's correct!)

In my abortive clarinet playing attempts (self-taught as usual) I did 'play' the slow movement of his clarinet concerto - wonderful experience, although Mozart would probably not have approved.

Then there's the concerto for flute and harp not yet mentioned which, if not great, is a very refreshing piece to listen to.

His magnum opus? I've no idea....so many to choose from. As a youngster for me it was symphony no41, but as I mentioned elsewhere on PW, I came across a particularly miserable rendition that emphasized all the latent pathos and I haven't listened to it since.

I *LOVE* Ave Verum Corpus!!!

I love his sonatas, piano concertos (esp. K. 466), The Magic Flute, the Requiem, and Symphony #25 (haven't seen that one mentioned... I especially love how they use it at the beginning of the movie "Amadeus" to set the scene.)

I don’t know about his magnum opus...i guess that is probably Don Giovanni... but I love the sonata for two pianos k448. It’s the best non orchestral piano work he composed. Amd i think the 9th piano concerto is perfect too.