Well, I couldn't have planned this any better. This is, quite unbelievably, my 100th entry in this blog. And what a subject to feature today. On any given night, Don Giovanni can be the greatest opera ever written, at least in my opinion. It is hard for us, in the 21st century, to really appreciate … Continue reading The 100th Entry: Don Giovanni
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The Jupiter
We are now quickly coming to the end. But before grief, utter brilliance. Mozart wrote his 41st and last symphony at the age of 33. He had no idea it would be his final symphonic statement, but he could leave no greater legacy. Again, there is too much to say about the remarkable “Jupiter” Symphony … Continue reading The Jupiter
Rediscovering Mozart
Often tempting to dismiss as the kitch before Beethoven or the guy who opened the door to the Romantic aesthetic while declining to walk through it, the music of Mozart is both inviting and, distressingly, easily dismissed. Even by those who are quick to recognize his genius. One of the great surprises for me in … Continue reading Rediscovering Mozart
Mozart, Innovator of Advanced Harmonics
The sheer impossibility of doing justice to Mozart is beginning to show—so much great music has been ignored here. But as we gather steam on Mozart’s influence on the Romantics, half a century later, let’s take a look at one of his most daring compositions, the Quartet No. 19 in C Major. In or around … Continue reading Mozart, Innovator of Advanced Harmonics
Be for us a foretaste
Mozart’s brief motet, Ave Verum Corpus, was one of the springs that fed the Romantic period. Written in the last year of his life as a gift to a friend to thank him for a kindness, it is hard not to consider the prophetic words of the prayer: “Hail, true body born of the Virgin … Continue reading Be for us a foretaste
A Gertus History of Music 