Mozart Clarinet Concerto Essay

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had endless ideas for writing piano sonatas and like his other works, his sonata style has evolved dramatically over the years. His early works have been constantly compared with other well-known composers at the time. For example, it has been suggested that Haydn’s F Major Sonata, Hob. XVI: 23 as a model for Mozart’s K. 280 in the same key.

While at the Salzburg court, Mozart composed his only violin concertos, as well as his first piano concertos. However, Mozart grew discontent with his work at court when his desire to work on operas was not encouraged. Mozart began looking for alternative employment in 1777 with a journey to Paris with his mother. While on his tour of Paris, he had financial difficulty, and fell to pawning valuables. While he was gone, his father worked to secure a better position for Mozart in the Salzburg court, and after the death of his mother, Mozart returned to Salzburg. However, his discontent was little diminished, and he left for Vienna in 1781. There, he worked as a freelance composer and performer, and established himself as one of the best keyboard players in Vienna. This period of Mozart’s life saw his marriage to Constanze Weber, as well as moderately great success with his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). Over the next few years, Mozart mounted a number of concerts featuring himself as a piano soloist which pushed him to great success and high accolades from his audience. Mozart also began to realize moderate financial success, which led him to adopt a more opulent lifestyle. Incidentally, this increase in lifestyle would lead to financial difficulties later. Around 1786, Mozart began collaborating with Lorenzo Da Ponte on two very successful operas, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni. Soon after, Mozart secured a

Composing works derived from styles already in existence, he created an extremely unique and unprecedented genre of works. Thus Mozart became a trailblazer of the classical age. Music from this period consists largely of a lighter and clearer texture than the preceding Baroque music and is less intricate. One trademark especially evident in Mozart’s contribution to the classical period is the use of homophony. Examples of the homophonic effect are displayed in his piano concerto No. 23 and sonata No 16 in C. In these, the distinct pattern of an indubitable melody can be distinctly and easily recognized above the adjunct chordal accompaniment. Although Mozart contributed primarily to the growth of the classical era, he was also influenced by the works of Handel and Bach. Both were prominent composers of the baroque era. In some of his later works, Mozart indulged more in the incorporation of the previous baroque

Mozart’s Requiem is “one of the most performed and studied pieces of music in history” (Stango, n.d.). The story behind the start of this piece begins with Count Franz von Walsegg, who commissioned a requiem mass for his wife Anna (who had passed away). Throughout his work on this piece, Mozart began to get so emotionally involved with the piece that he believed that he was writing a death mass for himself. Mozart died December 5, 1791, with only half of the Requiem finished (through Lacrimosa). Franz Xaver Süssmayr finished the Requiem based on Mozart’s specifications from notes and what he had already written. The completed work is dated 1792 by Süssmayr and was performed for the first time on January 2, 1793. Mozart’s intent for this

This paper discusses Mozart's life, his compositions and his importance to the world and the world of music. It explains how Mozart's music is still some of the most popular classical music played today and his life is still studied because his music is so well known and liked.

After Mozart and his father returned to Italy from a ten year tour, Mozart was employed by Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Collero to be a court musician in the year 1773. With a pay check of only 150 florins a year though, Mozart began to look for other job ventures and began to try to write operas that he hoped would help kick start his career as a professional musician. It was not until 1782 when Mozart began to receive the credit that he deserved. Performing on multiple local keyboard competitions, he was soon established as one of the best keyboard players in Vienna. Finally in 1783, as he finished writing the opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, he began to be seen as a successful independent composer and started to receive a reputation as such (Abert 642). As Mozart got older, he matured even more as a composer writing a total of over six hundred pieces including symphonies, operas, concertos, and other styles of pieces during his life

     Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s style unlike anyone else. Mozart was a master of counterpoint, fugue, and the other traditional compositional points of his day. He is also considered the best melody writer the world has ever known. Wolfgang perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera string quartet, and concerto made the classical period. “Mozart’s music is characterized by lucid ease and distinction of style....”2 Wolfgang wrote over 600 works which consisted of 21 stage and opera works, 15 masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos,27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets, and many more. His operas range from comic baubles to tragic pieces. In his Requiem it illustrates the supreme vocal sounds in any of his work.

The period form 1774 to mid 1777 was spent in Salzburg where he worked as a Konzertmeister at the Prince Archbishop’s court. He wrote many of his works during this time. Seeing limited opportunity in Salzburg, he left with his mother to Munich and Mannheim. No post was offered here either. His father then sent him to Paris with minor success only with his Paris Symphony no.31, deftly designed for the local taste. So, Wolfgang returned home alone. His mother had died in Paris. The years 1779-80 were spent in Salzburg playing in a cathedral and at court. He finally landed his big break when he wrote the Opera Idomeneo as a commission for Munich ( “Mozart” Grove ) Though there was conflict between him, his employer, and the Archbishop. So in May 1781 he resigned or was kicked out of his job. Wolfgang continued made a living as part time teacher, composer, and performer for various events. He married Constanze Weber in 1782. Also in 1782 and the following few years, Wolfgang wrote six string quartets all dedicated to the master of the form, Hayden. Hayden once told Mozart’s father that “Mozart was the greatest composer known to me in person or by name; he has taste and, what is more, the greatest knowledge of composition” ( “Mozart” Grove ). He wrote 15 piano concertos before the

He raced to finish it but in the end only completed a few movements and a sketchy outline of the rest of the piece. He died probably from poor health when he was just thirty five years old. The Requiem was completed by one of Mozart's pupils, Sussmayr.Mozart was apolitical. He was very classical. He appreciated Bach and had a large output: 49 symphonies and 18 operas.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the composer of Symphony No. 40 in G minor. This piece was composed in 1788. Mozart overshadowed and took after his father, Leopold, who was a talented composer of the time. After his father passed, young Mozart had the opportunity to work in several different musical genres composing symphonies, string quartets, sonatas and serenades and a few operas. He developed a passion for violin concertos producing what came to be the only five he wrote.

Even though the two pieces were composed in different centuries – Mozart’s piece in the 18th century and Strauss’ piece in the 20th century – some of the musical elements that they share transcend both time periods. The characteristics of music in the classical period had to do with the new view of human psychology. Mozart was one to introduce contrasting moods within movements or even within a theme. He was able to infuse strong contrasts of moods within the style of his music (Burkholder, Grout, & Palisca 475). In Figaro, Mozart includes an overture which is a piece in sonata form despite its lack of a development section. In Act I cavatina, “Se vuol ballare”, Mozart whimsically makes changes to the character of his music so as to correspond to Figaro’s machinations (Hambrik n.p). By doing so, he musically

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in Western musical history. He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son of Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composer and violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzberg court.

First and foremost, the piece reflects the development of the clarinet that its role in the orchestra became more and

The first movement of Mozart’s piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major is written fairly typically in the very structured sonata form. Historically is follows the main guidelines that were understood for the form. Harmonically, is progresses like expected. There are a few surprises here and there, but they are typical for Mozart’s compositions, especially his sonatas of the 18th century. In all, it makes a very interesting piece of work, especially with so much contrast within it.

The Development of the Mozart is an open free-form section that bases its ideas on thematic materials from the Exposition. It is very modulatory and derivative. Mozart pays special attention to shaping factors in the pace, texture, plan of key relationships and order of all the melodic material. He emphasizes the sub dominant throughout the entire development. It creates a sort of fantasy of the earlier material. The Alberti bass is very prominent through out the entire section. It acts as a strong accompaniment to the new themes that are introduced. The development varies in length from the exposition and in other cases is quite long and detailed. However, it shows a greater degree of tonal, harmonic and rhythmic instability than the other sections. The last part of the developmental section is the re-transition or bridge. It helps prepares the return of the first subject in the tonic. It stresses and prolongs the dominant seventh of the tonic. At the height of the musical tension the tonic triumphs and it enters into the recapitulation.