What is the secret of the popularity of Mozart

Photo Monica Liu CC BY

Mozart was one of the first musicians who marked the beginning of the era of real classical music. Through his work, he showed us the mood of the 18th century, and his work influenced the further development of concerts, symphonies and sonatas.
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What is Mozart famous for? It is like asking what Newton is famous for.

However, the comparison is a little inaccurate, since Mozart’s contribution to music is less noticeable than Newton’s revolutionary discoveries in dynamics and optics. This is due to the fact that Mozart did not write anything revolutionary. He used traditional forms of music: sonatas, minuets, rondo and others, without changing them much.

This is due to the fact that at that time there were indeed certain patterns for writing musical compositions. Not that there was any formula by which the music was written, but there were rules that made it clear which sequence of chords was best to use.

This practice helped composers to write music very quickly. If the time machine existed, it would be possible to conduct an experiment: let Mozart listen to any work of the 20th century. With great probability he would be puzzled, because modern music does not follow the rules of that time.

However, Mozart was able to write music not only quickly, but also qualitatively. In his best works the idea of ​​the composer is clearly visible, and it is a pleasure to perform them. What he achieved in writing operas, considering all the features of this genre, is most striking.

His operas are a whole epoch in the development of this kind of musical art. Mozart considered music to be the basis of opera, so he created a completely different type of musical drama, where opera music is in harmony with the development of stage action.

In his operas there are no only positive or only negative characters, all their characters are many-sided. His most popular works in this genre are The Marriage of Figaro, Don Juan and The Magic Flute.

For composers, Mozart was the ideal, for it seemed that he was writing music without any effort at all. “His early works are not very melodious, and in Symphony No. 1 there is a pair of parallel fifths, but this is excusable, because he wrote it when he was 8 years old,” said Shan Kothari, a student at the University of Minnesota.

He created technically perfect works with extraordinary speed. Mozart understood music so much that he easily transferred it from his head directly to paper.

“Modern composers try to imitate Mozart because he effortlessly wrote complex works,” said Kothari. “His music aroused a storm of emotions and was very light, while many other composers wrote very heavy works.”

It seems that every note in his works is in its place. When we listen to a new song or song for us, our ear sometimes picks up some moments that make us think and say: "It seems to me that something is wrong here." In the case of Mozart, this does not happen.

“To be honest, I just recently loved the music of Mozart,” Shang shares . - I have long been a fan of classical music of the XX century. Once the string quartet in which I played, decided to perform Mozart's Dissonance (string quartet No. 19 in the key in C major).

After the first rehearsal, I noticed that I was humming the melody from the first part, and I like it. Only then I realized what I missed the first 17 years of my life. ”

However, Ethan Hein (Ethan Hein), a music teacher at the State University of Montclair, believes that there is nothing mystical about Mozart's musical talent: “Mozart’s father constantly forced him to make music so that he would get“ 10,000 hours of Gladwell ”while still young [modern journalist and the sociologist Malcolm Gladwell argues that to achieve success in the chosen field, you need to spend at least 10,000 hours on it].

Only practice allows perfection. ”

Mozart really prepared for the life of the composer from an early age. Once his father, Leopold, being in Milan with his twelve-year-old son, wrote a letter to his wife in the middle of the night about how he hoped that young Wolfgang would have time to finish several arias for the opera (for which he had just taken) by tomorrow morning. Throughout his life, Mozart fought against deadlines and did not write what he wanted, but what was demanded of him.

Curtis Lindsay (Curtis Lindsay) also supports Ethan’s viewpoint: “You shouldn’t assume that Mozart’s musical talent is a gift from heaven that angels bring to newborn babies. In most cases, talent is the result of hard work. ”

Leopold Mozart was a very skillful musician who, helping his son, almost drove him to the grave. “He conveyed a huge amount of knowledge and skills to the young Mozart,” notes Curtis. “Leopold was an excellent teacher, but not the best father.”

However, Alan Morrison disagrees with Ethan and says that for some people the brain is designed in such a way that it is easier for them to perceive music and work with it. “Take, for example, Derek Paravicini ( video ). He is a genius who is sick with autism, but he can reproduce any melody by ear and repeat the style of any pianist, ”said Alan.

“Here is another example — Sungha Jung. He achieved amazing results ( video ), and I can say with confidence that at that time Chon was not practicing for 10,000 hours, ” continues Morrison.

This level of skill cannot be achieved through practice alone. It is worth considering the fact that Mozart himself showed an extraordinary interest in music at an early age.

Although Curtis agrees with the point of view of Ethan Hein, he admits that Mozart was great not only through training. “I do not believe that Mozart is obliged by his success only to hard work or only to an innate gift,” says Curtis. - With one hard work it is difficult to achieve something special, just as the interest and innate predisposition will not make a person a musician if he doesn’t make any effort. Both are necessary. ”

It’s difficult to say for sure what caused Mozart’s success. However, this does not affect the fact that he was a great composer. “The reason for Mozart’s popularity is his legacy, that is, the music he left behind. - Garrick Saito concludes . - It's hard to imagine how many people inspired his work. I don’t think his contribution to music history will ever be forgotten. ”

PS More materials on the topic of music and audio - in our " World Hi-Fi ".