It was the Moonlight Sonata that started my obsession with musical Conversations. And no, it wasn't the Mozart link described in the prior entry. It is easy to find how Beethoven influenced subsequent composers. You can jump only a few decades forward to Frederic Chopin, for example: Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 14, Op. 27, … Continue reading Searching for Truth: The Conversations
Tag: The Conversation
Soaked in Mozart
In 1787, a 17-year old Beethoven left his home in Bonn, Germany and traveled to Vienna with the express purpose of meeting and studying with Mozart, the greatest composer in Europe. Whether Beethoven actually met Mozart is debatable--the famous quotation attributed to Mozart ("Stanzi, Stanzi, watch out for that boy. One day he will give … Continue reading Soaked in Mozart
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
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 Conversation Without End
Bach is the beginning and end of all music.Max Reger I had no idea of the historical evolution of the civilized world's music and had not realized that all modern music owes everything to Bach.Niccolai Rimsky-Korsakov Bach is a colossus of Rhodes, beneath whom all musicians pass and will continue to pass. Mozart is the … Continue reading A Conversation Without End
A Gertus History of Music 