I love reading music commentary. I would be even more of a reader of Pitchfork now if it happened to have classical music commentary. Unfortunately, it sets its ambitions far lower (or higher, depending on your taste). Nevermind, in the stead of a dearth of Mozart reviewing and commentary on individual pieces, I have decided to provide my own. I will provide my gustatory belch at the forefront of the thing, which I also name in supplemantary fashion, my vatic judgment, my splenic fart, etc. etc. The reasoning of the thing will come after. Discouraged by a mountain of criticism that tries to reason itself out of or into its original disinclinations or inclinations, I am going in Emersonian fashion, straight from the mens to the page, as much as possible. Now, I had actually started all this craziness, a while before - so, this first post will contain quite a few entries. Hopefully, any chumchucker like myself looking for the latest Mozart scoop will be capable of finding a few shady judgments like his own for musing. Oh, and also, the reasoning part of the thing, I am only variably fond of. We shall see how much it ultimately enters into our high and holy composition.
K.1a
– fragment, not much feeling evoked, a question, and then the resolution out of
nowhere
K.1b – has a wonderful way of exploding at the beginning, notes
launching in all different directions, somehow resolves more neatly than the
previous
K.1c – far more elegant, seems to contain two real ideas unlike the
previous two fragments, yet I prefer K.1b to this
K.1d – weird, probably like full four ideas at work, seems to repeat at
least the first idea in part, don’t like many of the ideas very much, first
idea has that odd ascending line, seemingly going up to nowhere, second line,
casually descending, very cautiously, perhaps in an ungainly fashion resolves
the first; third line an interesting development of the first, fourth line, I
guess emerges from the third; fifth seems most unnatural and unnecessary of
all; third line repeated again, with resolution
K.1e – first line: opens sweetly, then the sweet opening is taken
rapidly through the resolution mill, repeated; second line, development,
questioning of the first, also taken through the resolution mill at the same
speed, repeated; third line, becomes rougher, resolved with sliding downward
scale, repeated; fourth line, flat questioning of third, resolved in the same
with a scale; end
K.1f – most memorable and pleasurable of these early minutes, the
hopping first theme sounds like a schoolboy taunting a master whose grabbing
hand always remains just out of reach; repeats; somehow the development revs
back into the first theme; very pretty
KV6 Allegro – early morning start of a piece that resolves into a short
lived sentimentality, seems to try to repeatedly get up out of bed; texture
thicker than previous pieces, violin and piano, bustling Alberti Bass beneath,
consequently seems to lack the one-instrument restraint of the previous pieces;
this is some wacko piece; first theme with many slight variations that resolve
momentarily into that sentimental sequence at the end, repeated again; seems to
be repeated again, but this time with a few more variations between the early
start opener and the imploring, sentimental closer; repeats itself again, but
only part of itself, near the beginning; slides down, starts again in new key
(?); starts again in new key (?); starts again; starts again; starts again;
maybe this latter bit was part of a larger latter half of the piece repetition?;
wow not my favorite piece
KV6 Andante – all in all, much prettier than the previous Allegro; on a
side note the repetitions with the slight variations or the more complex
movement of the piece (I don’t know which is occurring here just yet – makes
this piece for modern listeners, such as myself, very difficult to tell where
things are going and consequently what just happened); the movement of this
piece is so weird; in the first theme (1), the line questions up, then
questions down, then questions down again (repetition), then rounds/questions
up; this pattern shouldn’t be that complicated but it sounds complicated; after
this the line continually questions upward, while maintaining its gravity on
the tonic; after this the violin sweetly lances up to the sixth, and then again
but lands on the second, this is the most enjoyable portion of the piece; (2)
this all repeats; (3) theme 1, but starts higher up, but quickly runs into
seriousness, which is quickly escaped from into a variation on the sixth and second
violin lancing upward; (4) 3 repeats
KV6 Minuet I and II – not
exactly sure where the first one ends and the second begins, neither very
memorable, the second one I like better though; (1) first minuet and its (2)
“sad” variation shorter than the second, not too much to say about either; (3)
second minuet, more interesting, the mere tone of the violin, I think on the
tonic, provides a more ethereal atmosphere for the jumpy piano; (4) variation
on 3, goes, in the violin, from I (tonic), to II, to V an octave up, somehow, I
find this sort of pretty; (5) return to theme 1, weird stuff, ends with highest
note on a tonic, setting up for what comes next
KV6 – Allegro Molto - interesting, better than the Minuets that
proceeded it; (1) first theme memorable for the portion where the violin goes
up high to the tonic, and descends, and rounds off to the V; repeats (2); (3)
third, quite varied variation on the first, variation on the violin portion
that goes up high ripples nicely and prettily;
K7 – Allegro Molto – quite a different experience hearing these
keyboard sonatas with violin with harpsichord instead of piano; far more
sparkling and effervescent; (1) sparkling descending scale of a theme with
slaps, segues into something more contained anticipatory (Alberti Bass), first
theme lasts a whole minute and four seconds, then (2) repetition, (3) variation
opens much like 1, minor key variation lasts a very short time, everything
seems to fit better than a lot of the earlier stuff, which in a way makes it
less interesting, in my recording no repetition of that second variation
K7 – Adagio – why do the Adagio sections always seem so consistently
better to modern ears? This was
certainly better than the adagio in K6, and I think the best long form stuff
that he’s done yet, it has an odd tapping chord in the harpsichord, played
throughout, gives the piece a peculiar feel; (1) opening theme itself very
elegant and pretty, the way the harpsichord bass climbs upward is wonderful,
from here a theme develops in the harpsichord line that is wonderful, at one
point this drops off, and the violin is left singing on one note, while the
harpsichord slowly climbs, then (2) repetition, variation (3) starts on minor
chord, but moves into much of the same material available in the first section,
as it appears to me, no repetition again of this section in the recording, why?
K7 – Menuetto I and II – strange enough piece, I guess, lots of a
little repetitions, I think I had an idea where the second Menuetto began, but
I am at not all sure; Menuetto 1 I guess broken into two different portions
both repeated twice, neither very memorable; Menuetto II much more memorable,
opening bar is dark with a sly smile at the end, bar after that has an odd
skittering theme that is very strange; return to Menuetto I,
K.2 – Minuet in F – famous early piece, a hemming and hawing of a
piece, with that famous meditative pause on the minor chord
K.3 - Allegro in B Flat – always
had much fondness for this charming little piece, a working out of a conceit
K.4 – Minuet in F – this minuet has an odd mixture of themes, the
opening bar is very pretty, but then it is juxtaposed with something else
K.5 – Minuet in F – not one of my favorite, nevertheless, I find the
explosion that probably occur like 2 bars in a good deal of fun
K.5a – Allegro in C – my least favorite so far, oddly ornate descending
theme opens, progresses into something else
K.8 Allegro – Overall, nonplussed by this piece. Opening chipping theme, lasts about a minute,
with various, weird, uninteresting development; then repeats; development in
minor key, odd things going on with the violin hanging out down in its lower
registers, played only once with coda
K.8 Andante – Has such a small, strange, head-nod of a theme; the
portions that follow this are pretty, the violin rests low mournfully at one
point while the harpsichord crawls upward; these parts both repeat
K.8 Menuet I and II – Some of these pieces seem to have a polyphonic
appeal; it’s as if he knew that the appeal of the basic theme wasn’t enough, so
he had the other parts dance around to it create some interest; contrasting
theme in the middle is a real bad boy march, don’t have much to say about it
otherwise; first part repeats; can’t tell the difference between the first and
the second minuet (unless the second is played in the middle of the first)
K.9 Allegro Spiritoso – somehow the opening theme seems like good
carriage music, it is content music, not over hasty or enthused, just happy and
content to be happy; theme is repeated; development in the minor, preceded by a
strange scale, and then a tinkling part emerges, which though unique sounding,
I do not find enormously attractive; all of this is repeated (development part
included)
K.9 Andante – WTF did he have on his mind when he was composing
this? This is the strangest sounding
piece – the opening bar questions, but the resolution in the following bar or
two doesn’t sound right; then later you have a strange staccato ascending scale
that plops itself downward at the end of it; the piece is full of irregular
meter; the minor development of the theme is not anywhere near as strange as
the major theme; the major theme repeats
K.9 Minuet I and II – the opener
ripples in a rather pretty way, the development of this theme less interesting,
opening theme returns, new theme (?) in minor, not too interesting, opening
theme returns
K.10 Allegro – same format, theme, development, repetition of theme;
all in all, pretty unmemorable, don’t have much more to say
K.10 Andante – has an odd alternation of two notes of varying intervals
in the left hand that repeats itself again and again, very strange effect
occurs in left hand trill about two minutes into this section, sounds like
gypsy;
K.10 Menuetto I and II – odd pecking theme, that except for the fact
that it pecks, I do not care for;
K.11 Andante – Don’t really have much to say on this section other than
that the arrangement of ideas seemed very hard to follow – I don’t think I
really understand these London violin sonatas
K.11 Allegro – An unpleasant mixture of ideas, sounds forced, labored
K.11 Menuetto – Theme with a note that fidgets upward at the beginning
– can’t say that I really like it
K.12 Andante – This seems like a trotting theme, light, delicate, and sort
of polyphonic
K.12 Allegro – when I first heard this theme, I thought I heard two
themes completely unrelated to one another, bound together, in a weird way; by
the end of the piece, I was used to it; the middle section is interesting
K.13 Allegro – As usual, have less to say on the allegro theme. Liking the throaty base of the
harpsichord.
K.13 Andante – Has an odd ascending scale in thirds.
K. 13 Menuetto 1 and 2 – Like this the best so far, another scale, this
time descending, makes the theme, makes the whole of it sound zany
K. 14 Allegro – seems to do a lot of leaping up and down, begins with
an upward scale, coda has some stuff that sounds sort of sly
K. 14 Allegro – another allegro, Mozart most have found something he
really liked to put another in the same piece, the theme ascends upward getting
squeakier and squeakier and more strained sounding, interesting, best allegro
I’ve heard recently
K. 14 Menuetto 1 and 2 (In Carillon) – sounds like chipping wood,
violin played pizzicatti in a pretty way later on
K.15 Allegro – the Allegro here had a seriousness that to me sounded
strange and not like the other pieces, can’t say that I affect it much
K.15 Allegro Grazioso – a bit more interesting, but not much more
interesting, I tried to track the moving parts of the piece, the relation of
themes to one another, the return of certain themes, but my selection of themes
was so small, that by the end of the minute and half I was left with an
impression of disjointedness, of no theme really relating to another
