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Some works take a bit more effort from me before I 'get it' and thereafter want to listen again and again. K333, his #13 piano sonata in Bb major, is one such work. I've heard again and again that this is a great work--do you (or does anyone) have a favorite performance?
I’m not going to give you my favorite Mozart sonatas because I really couldn’t choose. I love K333! Personally, I have to say that my favorite Mozart interpreter is Alicia de Larrocha, and I love her recordings of K333.
even the OP had said had played beethoven and chopin and only his teacher recommended it. i wonder why mozart is rarely played compared to romantic composers. cant be just me.
I think it is easier to get something that is good sounding with romantic pieces than with Mozart. I am not saying romantic music is easy to play, but i think it is more forgiving. To play well Mozart requires an excellent control in terms of articulation, good fluidity, precision like Bruce said, phrasing and touch. It really demands a lot of maturity and technique to get something expressive. Why is it not more played ? Not sure, but maybe because it does not have an immediate appeal like romantic composers. You really have to work very hard to make a piece sound good.
But that said if you dont like Mozart, well thats ok too.
After I studied, memorized, and performed k332 1st mvt in a student recital, I vowed never to do another Mozart piece. I'm feeling better now that time has passed - you just remember the good parts. But I don't see another Mozart piece in my immediate future...
really, very interesting. i only played one mozart adagio. they all sound similar to me sidokar !
Played by Uchida it takes a different character. Though it is the easiest sonata, it is still extremely difficult to achieve anywhere near that level of musicality.
Mozart requires an understanding of vocal phrasing and 'breathing', which is why all good Mozart pianists know his Da Ponte operas very well - and that is in addition to a clean articulation and precise fingerwork for the passagework that abounds in his piano music.
No wonder so many (adult) students aren't keen on playing Mozart, even if they like his music: they need to be able to play fast scales and arpeggios that 'flow like oil'.
With Chopin nocturnes etc, it's easy to hide flaws in fingerwork and uneven dynamics beneath swathes of pedal.
I had my lesson Friday and my teacher was very complimentary of my playing of K283. Yes, I was surprised. I knew places where I needed work, on smoothness, precision and crispness (my word, not his), but overall, he really liked my progress. He told me, and I quote, "you're at a point that you need to make the piece yours." I was shocked. He also wanted me to add a hint of pedal, in certain locations, which I tried vs holding a key slightly longer. Listening to Arrau and LL play it, I can hear where they are using the pedal.....interesting. As several have said, it is not easy playing Mozart and making it sound fluid and emotional, but it's wonderful practicing and playing his work. K331 is enroute. And several posters have said it easy to hide flaws playing Chopin nocturnes....I've done it and folks couldn't even tell, because I asked them if they heard my mistakes and they thought it was perfect. You're playing naked with Mozart....every imperfection is on display.
I think Mozart is difficult to play well, but I also think Romantic era composers are hard to play well and their much more extensive use of pedal doesn't do much to hide wrong notes or any other imperfections as some have claimed. I think Romantic era composers are more popular because they are more readily appealing to many people. I wasn't a big fan of Mozart or Bach as a teenager. Even Leonard Bernstein described in one of his books how as a young boy he souped up his playing of Bach with extreme dynamics and rubato to make is sound more romantic/exciting.
I had my lesson Friday and my teacher was very complimentary of my playing of K283. Yes, I was surprised. I knew places where I needed work, on smoothness, precision and crispness (my word, not his), but overall, he really liked my progress. He told me, and I quote, "you're at a point that you need to make the piece yours."
Sounds like you have mastered or almost mastered the technical aspects and now your teacher is suggesting you develop your own artistry of K283. That’s such a compliment and milestone. I hope you post a recording sometime to share with us.
Played by Uchida it takes a different character. Though it is the easiest sonata, it is still extremely difficult to achieve anywhere near that level of musicality.
“Children are given Mozart because of the small quantity of the notes; grown-ups avoid Mozart because of the great quality of the notes.” My Life and Music (1961)
“The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes—ah, that is where the art resides!” in Chicago Daily News 11 June 1958
“Children are given Mozart because of the small quantity of the notes; grown-ups avoid Mozart because of the great quality of the notes.” My Life and Music (1961)
I actually don't think one can correctly argue that the notes are of greater quality unless one just thinks Mozart is greater than composer X. I think a more accurate description would be that since the texture is thin compared to many Romantic compositions, the notes are more exposed. I think the same is true for many compositions by Bach and Scarlatti. I don't think this means Mozart is more difficult than, for example, Chopin. Each composer has their own difficulties.
