Wednesday, December 25, 2013

I Bet You Haven't Heard This Before!

If I have one fantasy about Mozart's playing it is that he played with that attitude, and with the skill to pull it off--every time. 

The reason people are afraid to go hear his music is that they have heard it all before, mostly played as if it exists to have been heard before.  As some would say, "Pullleeeze!"

What would be the point of that?

Within the past week my playing received two of the most meaningful possible compliments, each from a professional musician in response to a different Mozart sonata:  To the G major: "It sounded as if you were making it up as you went along."  To the late D major:  "It hardly sounded like a sonata."

Thank you.  We are taught to analyze these works until they lose all possible vitality; we are not taught to let them speak their own distinctive language which, by the way, is crafted so as not to be repetitive, however repetitive it may look on paper.

You should have been there.