Mozart = A fleeting figure who was both "fun" and "scary"

Enjoy casually ! Life with concerts
File.9　Mozart
Mitsuzo Mori ( music writer)

Every year at the end of the year, I comb through concert information in search of exciting concerts where I can listen to Mozart in the new year.
The royal road for classical music fans is to see the ballet "The Nutcracker" at Christmas, listen to Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" at the end of the year, and watch the "Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert" on TV while feeling tipsy on New Year's Day.
But for some reason, for me it's Mozart.
One reason is simply that at the beginning of the year, people want to be soothed by the light, refreshing music of Mozart rather than heavy music, but above all, it also has a noble meaning of making them experience the "genius" of Mozart and, as music fans, want to continue to seriously engage with music this year as well.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
A great composer born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756, who died in Vienna at the young age of 35. He composed over 600 works, ranging from operas to instrumental music and religious music. There is an anecdote that while writing notes on a musical sheet, he was composing a different piece in his head.

Needless to say, the song is endlessly beautiful.
And his personality is completely unrestrained.
He liked to tell jokes that were "not very refined," and in his later years, his income decreased and he also developed a tendency to spend money, so letters asking for loans remain. Incidentally, there are also letters that seem to be filled with a series of "not very refined words."

"Why did God give such an ordinary man such a special talent?"

When I watch the play and film "Amadeus," which depicts the jealousy and conflict of the devout Vienna court conductor Salieri, I get a good sense of Mozart's lifestyle, even if it is a bit of an exaggeration, and it's funny. Or rather, I'm a little surprised.
The masterpiece "Amadeus" is, of course, fiction, but it is true that there was a rumor going around at the time that Salieri had poisoned Mozart, and that rumor haunted him until his death.
Poor Salieri, he just discovered the "truth of music"!

*Antonio Salieri (1750-1825)

Mozart, the “genius.”
It's hard to put that music into words.
Mozart was said to compose music "as if breathing."
The composition is very simple. It follows the grammar of what is now called "classicism" established by his predecessors Haydn and others, and there is little sense of Beethoven's desire for innovation or struggle for self-expression. In fact, there are hardly any traces of rewriting the score.

Light, refreshing and incredibly beautiful music.
But that's already more than enough...

For example, the second movement of Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major.
A quiet, melancholy piano solo is followed by an orchestral ensemble that can be heard from somewhere far away. Immediately afterwards, the piano plays a mysterious, indescribable melody...
Just when you start to feel a bit uneasy, a somewhat cheerful phrase starts, and the opening melody is repeated.
"Music is a temporal art." But when I listen to this piece, I feel the exact opposite. That is, I begin to think that Mozart is using the seven minutes to depict a moment.
Various feelings of anxiety, faint hope, and so on flash through your mind in an instant.
Mozart does not give us a beginning, development, twist, or conclusion.
*A recommended album featuring Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 & No. 26. Gulda (piano) & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (conducted by Harnoncourt)

Take for example the opera "Don Giovanni."
The "victims" of Giovanni, a womanizer and murderer, are cornered. It's strange to think that they are in love with the protagonist, even though they hate him and want to kill him.

There is a saying that is often said about piano music.
"Mozart is too easy for children, but too difficult for adults"
There is nothing difficult about it that would help improve a child's skills, but its simplicity means that if the evil thoughts of adults get involved, the innocent Mozart can be ruined.
In fact, I have come across such performances many times.

Here is a CD: the Violin Sonata, given the opus number K30, composed by Mozart when he was 10 years old. It is a wonderful performance by Podger and Cooper.
The "Adagio" movement is a beautiful piece with a generously singing violin. There is no "technique" that the mature Mozart used to inspire, but what is the sad atmosphere that can be heard in the background? It is never negative, but rather gently enveloping.
Mozart, an innocent boy who is said to have told Marie Antoinette, who was seven years old at the time, "When you grow up, I'll marry you," ended up composing music like this. Or, should I say, someone made him compose it?
Ah, the "natural talent" that Salieri was jealous of.
There is a "demonish" fear in Mozart's music.
It's an expression often used by music connoisseurs.
* Mozart at age 6 in formal attire

Emotions that listeners are not usually aware of, that lie dormant in the depths of their hearts, truths that they don't want to acknowledge yet... He gives us a glimpse of such troublesome things, gives us a rough touch, and then, without a trace of knowledge, makes us feel beautiful and dreamy again.
What is it that makes people create music like this? It's scary.
Is it something far away, or is it within us?

So that's it.
Here are two Mozart concerts that we recommend for the beginning of the year.

New Year's Concert at Philia Hall on Saturday, January 11th.
The virtuoso Yokoyama Yukio performs three piano concertos with members of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
The above number 23 will also be performed.
Still, three Mozart pieces is amazing.

(C) R Infini

This event has ended.
"New Year's Concert "Mozart Feast""
[Date and time] Saturday, January 11, 2020, 15:00 start
[Venue] Philia Hall, Aoba Community Cultural Center, Yokohama
[Performance] Piano: Yukio Yokoyama, Orchestra: Chamber Orchestra by members of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Concertmaster: Hiroyuki Yamaguchi)
[Price] S 7,500 yen, A 6,500 yen
For more information, click here

And then there's the Mozart Matinee at the Musashino Kawasaki Symphony Hall.
This is Saturday, January 18th.
You can enjoy works from his youth, performed and conducted by violinist Shunsuke Sato, now one of Japan's most respected musicians.
This is a great opportunity to listen to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, the second son of Josef Bach, who influenced Mozart.

© Yat Ho Tsang

This event has ended.
"Mozart Matinee No. 39 "
[Date and time] Saturday, January 18, 2020, 11:00 start
[Venue] Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall
[Performers] Violin: Shunsuke Sato (pianist and conductor), Orchestra: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
[Fee] Adults 3,500 yen, U25 (elementary school students to 25 years old) 1,000 yen, Friends' Association 3,150 yen
For more information, click here

It won't be scary if we all listen to it together!
Now, enjoy some Mozart!