If you have been following along from the beginning, you’ll recall that My Musical Evolution had a good sized dose of Classical music way back in my early childhood courtesy of a few classical compilation albums that my mother had. My interest in classical music exapnded with the discovery of Switched-On Bach at my aunt’s house in Vermont. Along the way, classical music would drift into the picture, usually in a very indirect manner.
I purchased my own copy of Switched-On Bach and explored the “original” versions behind those Moog-ified gems. Still my focus was primarily on Bach. I reasoned that my background in math and computer science was what attracted me to the precise and mechanical nature of Bach’s music. With Bach, the timing and the arrival of each note in the piece was expected like in a computer program. I often felt that Bach didn’t write music so much as outlined a framework of rules and the music what whatever was left after the rules were all applied.
My appreciation for classical music would be re-ignited and expanded by Mozart. I saw the movie Amadeus on A&E during the Roach Days. It really had an impact on me. The first part was not unlike my Doors discovery on that hike with Adam back to Doc’s camp. As the movie progressed, I realized that I was quite familiar with several of Mozart’s compositions without know that they all belonged to Mozart. The second piece of this puzzle was the story of Mozart as presented in the film was fascinating. I looked ahead in the cable guide and on the next airing commited the film to Betamax.
Where Bach was mechanical and precise, Mozart was emotional free to compose whatever he felt. It also gave me a new appreciation for the woodwinds. As a kid, the Star Wars soundtrack made me a fsan of Brass. Those powerful horns bellowing out the theme. Somewhere along the line I shifted toward the string section and loved the versatility of violins, violas and cellos. Here with Mozart, oboes, clarinets and bassoons were utilized in such an amazing way that I couldn’t help but crave their subtle sweetness. You’ll hear what I’m talking about on Serenade For Winds. Mozart’s body of work is truly amazing. Eventually I would collect all of his symphonies and numeorus other works. He was a prolific composer and while they might not all be “hits” there is a certain something about his music that is worth checking out. Doesn’t it seem odd to be into Metallica so much just a few posts ago and to be into Mozart so much now?
Symphony Number 25
Serenade For Winds – See what I mean about subtle sweetness of woodwinds?
Symphony Number 29
Piano Concerto In E Flat
Don Giovanni Act II Commendatore Scene
Requiem Confutatis
Piano Concerto In D Minor
You really should see this film if you haven’t yet.