Mozart's Legacy

In Mozart’s life, he created over 600 works. From preludes and fugues to operas and symphonies, Mozart wrote them all. Specifically though, Mozart changed the game when it comes to developing the piano concerto, the symphony, and the opera. 

Concertos are pieces for a single instrument or instruments that are accompanied by an orchestra. In the 17^th century, concertos were defined as sacred works for voices and orchestra. With this definition, we can kind of imagine what Mozart was thinking when he wrote his concertos. They were something to glorify and highlight. To show all the great things about the instrument, or instruments. In his life, Mozart wrote 27 concertos. Four of them written at the age of 11, during a time when Johann Christian Bach was a great influence to him. Keep in mind that instruments during the baroque period were quite different to the instrument we have today. Mozart most acclaimed concertos, being his piano concertos, were meant to be played on a fortepiano, rather than a pianoforte. The sound would be more muted and not sounding so open. Mozart wrote clarinet concertos and during this time, the clarinet was a newly developed instrument and had yet to show off anything. When we think of clarinets today, they are not as the most pretentious instrument in an orchestra. Nevertheless, Mozart’s concertos are, still to this day, amazing and pieces of greatness. 

Perhaps the best examples of Mozart’s symphonic genius can be attributed to his last three symphonies. These being Mozart Symphonies No. 39, No. 40 and No. 41 which were composed in the year of 1788, three years before his death. Although some may attribute these as his farewell, they are not as Mozart had no idea that in 1791 he would be dead. In fact if he had “lived longer, he would have probably written more symphonies” (Gay 115). What Mozart could have brought to the musical table will be forever unknown but one might assume it would have been extraordinary, bring back the significance of his last three symphonic works. And his final symphony, “Jupiter", had a particular significance with “the repetitions, the cross-references, the themes and their modulations our joys of rare purity; the last movement of the “Jupiter” Symphony concludes with a complicated figure that combines five subjects into a stunning climax” (Gay 117). This fantastic work of art is in no comparison to what was perviously a symphony's purpose — to open a concert rather than be the highlight of a concert. Also, Mozart used multiple musical figures rather than a single melody. Listen to below to hear this particular piece. 

Mozart Symphony No. 41 

However, the ending itself is reflected in works of Haydn, who Mozart knew and was in fact friends with. According to Tom Service, a music writer for the Guardian, “the very same four-note idea used as the basis of a contrapuntal work-out of a symphonic finale” that of Joseph Haydn 1764 13th Symphony. Furthermore, he goes to say the final movement, the “Molto Allegro fuses sonata form with fugue; that’s to say, it fuses the high-watermark of late 18th century practice in instrumental music with the most prestigious, and most compositionally involved, form of counterpoint in earlier music: the fugues of the Baroque, like those by Bach and Handel, that Mozart knew and loved” (Service). Even though many idea in the piece are influenced by pervious composers, what is amazing is the ability to create such masterful musical pieces and make them his own. 

For reference is Haydn 13th below.

In the world of the opera, Mozart had a profound impact. All things considered – he did pass at the age of thirty-five, much sooner than his predecessors who often lived beyond their seventieth year – the magnitude of Mozart’s influence upon the operatic scene is comparable to men like Gluck, Wagner, and Verdi. Mozart’s operas were able to obtain a greater degree of dramatic expression and a stronger human quality than Gluck’s, thus setting the bar for future operas much higher. Prior to Mozart, the majority of operas were centered around themes of “antiquity and mythology, or to the early Christian era.” But Mozart wrote without the restriction of plot or remoteness of character fixed to those themes, and thus his operas featured a warm-hearted, laughter-loving artistic quality that his predecessors lacked. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte is both tonally simple yet thematically complex. The characters feel like legitimate humans and the theme is often light-hearted and playful. All of Mozart’s operas are rich with amusing incidents amid tragic denouements and jovial yet sinister characters. “In fact it may be said that, in the evolution of opera, Mozart was the first to impart to it a strong human interest with humour playing about it like sunlight". Again, it is necessary to recall that Mozart progressed the opera at least as much as the previous operatic revolutionaries, in less than half the time.

It was Mozart’s great and innate genius that enabled him to develop so intensely so many different forms of musical expression. His revolutionary advances raised the standard for future musical endeavors in all aspects.

Sources

ArtyClassical. "Mozart - Symphony No. 41 in C Major, "Jupiter" - IV. Molto Allegro (Bohm)." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2016

ComposersbyNumbers. "F.J. Haydn - Hob I:13 - Symphony No. 13 in D Major (Hogwood)." YouTube. YouTube, 11 May 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Forye. "Mozart: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (d-minor) K.466." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Nov. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Gay, Peter. Mozart. New York: Lipper/ Penguin, 2006. 

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Muzikay. "Mozart: Fortepiano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K466. Schoonderwoerd, Ensemble Cristofori." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Pérez, Antonio Prieto. "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Die Zauberflöte"" YouTube. YouTube, 21 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Service, Tom. "Symphony Guide: Mozart's 41st ('Jupiter')." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 May 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and His Operas." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and His Operas. Music With Ease, 2016. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Credits

Jonna

• Proofreading 
• Build Blog 

Chase

• Bibliography 
• symphony (why/how complex—compare to previous definition of symphony)

Kailee

• concerto (compare to previous definition of concerto/types of instruments)
• intro

Darek

• opera (compare to previous definitions of opera/historical examples)
• conclusion