MUS 303 – In Search of Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the great icons of Western music. An amazing prodigy--he toured the capitals of Europe while still a child, astonishing royalty and professional musicians with his precocious skills--he wrote as an adult some of the finest music in the entire European tradition. Julian Rushton offers a concise and up-to-date biography of this musical genius, combining a well-researched life of the composer with an introduction to the works--symphonic, chamber, sacred, and theatrical--of one of the few musicians in history to have written undisputed masterpieces across every genre of his time. Rushton offers a vivid portrait of the composer, ranging from Mozart the Wunderkind--travelling with his family from Salzburg to Vienna, Paris, London, Rome, and Milan--to the mature author of such classic works as "The Marriage of Figaro", "Don Giovanni", and "The Magic Flute". During the past half-century, scholars have thoroughly explored Mozart's life and music, offering new interpretations of his compositions based on their historical context and providing a factual basis for confirming or, more often, debunking fanciful accounts of the man and his work. Rushton takes full advantage of these biographical and musical studies as well as the definitive New Mozart Edition to provide an accurate account of Mozart's life and, equally important, an insightful look at the music itself, complete with musical examples. An engaging biography for general readers that will also be an informative resource for scholars, this new addition to the prestigious Master Musicians series offers an authoritative portrait of one of the defining figures of European culture.

Mozart is the archetypal child prodigy whose genius triumphed over precociousness, and who later broke away from a loving but tyrannical father to pursue his vision unhampered. Peter Gay traces the development of the man and the composer who pushed every genre - especially opera - into new realms.

Mozart's unfinished Requiem has long been shrouded in mystery. Mozart undertook the commission for an Austrian nobleman, little knowing that he was to write a requiem for himself. Inevitably, the secrecy surrounding the anonymous commission, the circumstances of Mozart's death, the unfinished state of the work, and its completion under the direction of Mozart's widow, Constanze, have precipitated two centuries of romantic speculation and scholarly controversy. Christoph Wolff provides a critical introduction to the Requiem in its many facets. Part I of his study focuses on the tangled genesis and completion of the work and its fascinating early reception history until Constanze's death. Wolff summarizes the current state of research on the subject, provides new perspectives on Mozart's conception of the whole work, and surveys his contributions to the movements composed posthumously by his assistant, Süssmayr. Part II provides a musical analysis of Mozart's composition, including contextual, structural, and interpretive aspects. Part III consists of an annotated collection of the principal literary documents (1791-1839) that illuminate the fascinating early history of the Requiem. The book concludes with a complete edition of the work that is at the center of Wolff's study, the authentic score of the Requiem--Mozart's fragment--supplemented by crucial excerpts from Süssmayr's 1792 Requiem completion.

The partnership of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte, composer and librettist respectively for The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte, was one of the most extraordinary collaborations in the history of opera. The book features biographic profiles of composer and librettist Mozart: Master of Musical Characterization, and Da Ponte: Ambassador of Italian Culture plus a complete portrait of each opera, featuring, Principal Characters, Brief Story Synopsis, Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples and complete Libretto, with Italian and English translations side-by-side."

The six string quartets dedicated to his friend Joseph Haydn represent a turning point in Mozart's compositional development. In addition to providing a full synopsis of each quartet this book examines the music in relation to Mozart's earlier quartets, considers the genesis of the six 'Haydn' quartets through close examination of the autograph revisions and looks at contemporary eighteenth-century analytical models. John Irving also charts the reception of the quartets, drawing upon a broad range of sources: Mozart's letters and diary entries, early newspaper reports, harmony/compositional textbooks, contemporary criticism and early biographies.

Now available for the first time in a sturdily produced, reasonably priced paperbound edition is the complete orchestral score of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, widely considered the greatest comic opera ever written. Based on the second play of a trilogy by Beaumarchais (the first was The Barber of Seville), Figaro elevates the time-honored opera buffa of Italian tradition to new heights, transfiguring persons and scenes with glorious melodies and superb dramatic characterizations. This edition, based on Mozart's autograph manuscript and early German translations of the libretto, embodies both the original Italian libretto of Lorenzo Da Ponte and a new corrected version of the German text. It is totally complete and contains all passages, including some that are missing from other editions and often cut in performances. In addition, the Editor's Commentary includes a complete review of all dubious passages and text problems. This full orchestral score is an indispensable aid for study and for anyone listening to recordings or live performances. In no other manner can the listener or student keep full awareness of the many elements that make up this opera.

Complete parts to orchestral masterworks on CD-ROM! These unprecedented collections give musicians the opportunity to build a personal library of orchestra repertoire at an incredibly low price. The CD-ROM contains the same published parts musicians have been using for many years. If these parts were purchased separately, this collection would easily cost $500 or more! Works are viewable and printable on PC or Macintosh. No access codes or special software is required. The CD uses Abode Acrobat Reader technology, which is included on the CD. This volume includes works by Mozart and Haydn.

"The purpose of this web site, operated by the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum in cooperation with the Packard Humanities Institute, is to make Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's musical compositions widely and conveniently accessible to the public, for personal study and for educational and classroom use ... The digitized version offers the musical text and the critical commentary of the entire Neue Mozart-Ausgabe. Some restrictions apply to the reproduction of images of source materials, particularly in the supplement to the edition." Works may be searched by Köchel number, key, editor's name, Neue Mozart-Ausgabe series and volume number, as well as by keyword.

Mozart scholars paint a portrait of the outcast master whose work would revolutionize nearly every area of music. Includes performances of Mozart's works by conductor Zubin Mehta, violinist Isaac Stern and flutist James Galway.

Mozart was without doubt the most prodigiously gifted of all Western composers. More than any other composer, it is his mythological biography - from the archetypal 'Wunderkind' childhood to his early obscure death - that defines our popular conception of a great composer. This film unravels two hundred years of fiction and myth. The deteriorating relationship Mozart had with his father, and his choice of Constanze for his wife are re-assessed in this film which expertly depicts the intrigue and jealousy that surrounded his life. This is shown alongside extracts from the hit film Amadeus based on Peter Shaffer's superb play about the composer. Interviewees include Charles Rosen, Imogen Cooper and Jonathan Miller with extracts from Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflote, Piano Concerto in E Flat and Requiem.

Geraint Evans as Figaro ; Reri Grist as Susanna ; Elisabeth Söderström as La Contessa ; Teresa Berganza as Cherubino ; Gabriel Bacquier as Il Conte ; with supporting soloists ; John Alldis Choir ; New Philharmonia Orchestra ; Otto Klemperer, conductor.

Mozart string quartet no. 14 in G major K.387 : (Haydn set no. 1)
Haydn string quartet in C major op. 33 no. 3 : (The bird)
Mozart string quartet no. 15 in D minor K.421 : (Haydn set no. 2)