Day 27: Mozart Trio in E flat

Day 27: Mozart Trio in E flat

Picture to follow!

Now this is something that doesn’t appear very often in my CD collection, I’ve noticed: Chamber music. This on appears to have been on the cover of the BBC Music Magazine, so there must have been something that appealed to me, as I don’t ever remember buying said magazine!

This particular trio was written for clarinet, viola and piano, and is in three movements: Andante – Minuet & Trio – Rondo. This was apparently unusual, as a first movement would normally be faster. This movement is also unusual in that the second theme is quite clearly developed from the first theme and thus gives the movement the sound of being almost monothematic. Also, the second movement is unusual in that the trio is almost twice the length of the minuet. It’s as if Mozart wants this to be the emotional core of the whole work. In accordance with convention, the key of the rondo is E flat, the same as the opening movement, but, unusually for Mozart, it is a 7 part rondo.

The recording I listened to was of a live performance at the Californian SummerFest La Jolla, 1999.

Day 24: Weber Clarinet Concerto no.1

Day 24: Weber Clarinet Concerto no.1

Oh wow! This really takes me back! To my teens!! I have memories of playing this for one of my clarinet exams; but how much beautifully does Emma Johnson play it than I?! This CD was obviously bought for the familiarity of something I could play, and for the performer who had just won the BBC Young Musician of the Year * competition! Can’t remember the exact year, but it was probably 1984.

Carl Maria von Weber ** (1786-1826) was a contemporary of Beethoven (1770-1827), although to me his music is slightly more reminiscent of the style of Mozart, and he was taught at one time by Haydn’s younger brother, Michael. The concerto is fairly typical of the Classical period, following the traditional concerto form – three movements, fast-slow-fast – and is scored for instruments typical of the time. Although I’ve said it is Mozart in style, apparently, new styles of writing appear in the first movement, although the final movement is more conventional (according to the CD insert).

As I’ve said, my recording is of Emma Johnson, and she is accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Schwarz.

* Sorry to quote wikipedia at you, but this really is the best link to the competition that I can find on the internet.

** Now, the librarian in me would like your opinion about this website, please; it's not one I've come across before and I haven't had a chance to evaluate it yet. Thanks.

Day 5: Symphony 38, Mozart

Day 5: 24 April 2012, Mozart Symphony no.38 in D, The Prague


How refreshing it is to listen to Mozart! My plan of
listening to Radio 4 on the way into work and a CD on the way home is actually having benefits: I still know a bit about what’s going on in the world, and my stress levels are not soaring whilst I’m driving amongst maniacs!!

I find Mozart just so easy to listen to. It does all the right things. If you don’t know the tune, you can hum it anyway. It’s kinda predictable but never boring. The cadences almost always resolve as you’d expect them to. The music often follows a standard format. There is always a distinct beginning, middle and end, and the end is usually heralded and obvious!

The Prague symphony was not the first of Mozart’s symphonies that I became familiar with. Like a lot of people I was first introduced to 40, but my liking for that was quoshed when I went to a performance of the Prague in a little church somewhere in Newport, with my piano teacher and a group of her piano students. The BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra were playing, but I’ve no idea what else they played as I was so transfixed by the Mozart!

I was particularly struck by the way the tune moved from one section of the orchestra to another, and generally by how it all fitted together so well. It’s a fairly typical example of a classical symphony, having 3 movements – fast-slow-fast – each being in sonata form. Some of the themes are just sublime.

The particular CD I listened to today was a recording of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and also included symphonies no.40 and 32. It was bought in WHSmith in the days when they used to have fantastic sales of CDs and you could pick up a real bargain – like this one, for £1.99!