Summer, 2020

Dear Friends,

I hope you are staying well. As I finish up the books on Mozart—after working on them many years—I find it is like cooking a Thanksgiving dinner for twenty, but somehow winding up with enough food for 100!  Even though I’ve culled and discarded entire chapters, there are many things that I’m not sure will be included in the books simply because it will make them too long.  

For example, in the chapter on Mozart’s use of strokes (about what they direct musicians to do, and how pianists can perform them to do convey what he intended on today’s pianos, etc.) I had included the following aside about seeing Mozart’s strokes in person, on a day in June many summers ago. I share it with you now with hopes for meaningful musical encounters in your present summer.

On seeing Notes marked with Strokes (NS) in a Mozart manuscript

I am grateful to the Morgan Library in NYC for my first experience of holding and viewing an autograph manuscript by Mozart. The autograph that I had hoped to see was of a Mozart piano concerto, but because it was being prepared for exhibit, I was instead offered the opportunity to view an early symphony. This was in many ways fortuitous, because I wasn’t familiar with the work and everything about viewing it was unknown to me. 

I hadn’t anticipated what it would be like to hold the very paper that Mozart had held, on which he had written out sounds that he was internally hearing as he touched it; I was overwhelmed by this proximity, and needed several tissues to dry my tears before I could examine what I was holding.

I found almost everything about the autograph manuscript to be shocking.  First of all, the paper size was small (it seemed roughly half the size of usual paper today). The manuscript was kept in a fancy, hand-tooled box that looked like a cross between a jewelry case and a casket (which, though understandable, seemed a profoundly inappropriate housing for this form of utter energy and life) covered in light blue satin that was extensively pleated, tucked and decorated.  On the small pages, the writing of the orchestra parts was almost miniscule; however, everything was clear, and somehow all the notes fit—actually they fit quite beautifully—into the proportions of the page; only Mozart’s signature had been squeezed in at an odd angle. 

I had a heightened awareness of the great importance of each mark on the page.  The ink was mostly not faded, and the lines and curves of Mozart’s hand were elegant and sure, simultaneously formal and free, matching the grandness of the symphony’s opening in dotted rhythms. The second area began with a rest, which was rhythmically such a surprise that I heard myself gasp. Mozart’s fresh, new musical ideas sparkled with life. 

I turned a page to see an ascending passage approaching the recap with strokes over the notes in the upper instruments. As he marked them, Mozart’s handwriting became more animated and vigorous, seeming to take on the energy of the strokes as the notes virtually lept forward to the musical goal!  Seeing the energetic effect of the strokes reflected in Mozart’s own hand, I realized I was witnessing his giving his music its being.

Thank you for your patience the many years it has taken me to write the Joy of Mozart Manual for Performers and Teachers, and the Joy of Mozart Method for Students. Now to find a publisher who can get the particular joy of Mozart’s music they describe to YOU!  

Warmest wishes,

Mary

Happy 2020, Everyone!

I’ve sent the first part of the Joy of Mozart Manual and Method to several distinguished colleagues to ask their feedback before sending to a publisher, and their comments have all been very positive as well as helpful.  I wanted to share a question from one of them, since it might be a question that some of you may also have.  As you know from reading the articles on the site, the Joy of Mozart approach is a way to understand and perform Mozart’s music according to his use of five types of expression markings. These markings indicate five types of sounds of notes in his music (in addition to pitch), and the JoM approach gives today’s pianists specific action steps (or “actions”) for performing these distinctly different types of sounds that result in Mozart’s interpretation for his music (which is beyond exciting!).

This was the reader’s question:

"I’ve read about the first 15 pages and already find it fascinating! I’m eager to read more! I already have a question: Why is the first note of a slur not included as an important note sound type? I’m thinking particularly of Malcom Bilson’s video “Knowing the Score” where he talks about the LH of the opening of K. 333 where the syncopated figures there create a restless feeling because of the emphasis implied by the slurring. Does not the first note of a slur mean “heavy” or “emphasized”?”

In response:

The first note under a slur is already one of the five types of notes that Mozart uses; it’s a Continuous Note under a slur (CN), which is played legato.  So, does the first note under a slur need to be played a special way that is different from the second, or third, etc. Continuous Notes under a slur? In this case, no; all CNs are played the same way. However, the last note under a slur (LN) has a completely different type of sound, so it is played a different way, and is a different (as you say, “important”) note type.

What MB is saying is more of a general comment that refers to the naturally occurring emphasis at the beginning of a slur, which happens for at least 3 reasons: a slur often begins on a main beat, which of course has a natural emphasis. If it begins in another place in the measure, the first note under the slur sounds emphasized because there was no sound connecting it to a previous note.  It will also naturally sound emphasized by being heard longer because of being continuous (legato). So I don’t think we need to think about the first note under a slur in terms of “heavy" or “emphasized" beyond these natural emphases (any emphasis from us would sound belabored). Mozart accounted for naturally-occurring emphases in his use of expression markings.

The Joy of Mozart manual talks about two levels of expression—general and detailed—in Mozart’s music. We have been taught a good bit about the general level, but we haven’t been taught about the level of the details: these are the specific nuances of sounds indicated by the expression markings that convey to us a deeper meaning of his music.  

I just wanted you all to know that the Joy of Mozart Manual and Method is shaping up! From it, you will be able to clarify all the ways that Mozart shows us his music’s expression. While it’s coming together, I’ll be happy for us to discuss any questions you might have if you would like to send them to me!  I’ll post them here on the Mozartiana page.

All Good Cheer and Warm Wishes throughout your new year!

Mary

Mozartiana #7 (Summer 2019)

Hello Everyone!

Did you think I had forgotten about you? I haven’t! I finished Part I of the book last week, and as I type this, friends are reading it to offer feedback before I search for a publisher. Part II (the professional-level version of the student method for pianists who play Mozart on today’s pianos) will be finished shortly!

From conception to now tying a knot in its tail, this book has taken over twenty years. It's a manual for today’s performers and teachers, a view of Mozart from a performance perspective (quite different from a historical one). I am simply grateful I’ve had the opportunity to do it because—as I receive reminders every week in one way or another—I know that it is needed.

Just yesterday, for example, one of my adult students (who has been on vacation) said he had been excited about attending a Mozart quintet performance where he was, so he went to hear it. But,…as he said he most often is... he was disappointed because the music lacked the sound qualities Mozart wrote for every note (which my student has learned about ) that gives his music its life! I was sad that the performance was not enjoyable, but it’s equally sad that what he experienced is not unusual. Mozart’s five expression markings show that every note’s pitch is played with one of five types of sounds, which I call Mozart’s Five Note Types (M5NT). They are our connection to his music’s life force, and it is only by playing with M5NT that we can fully convey—as Mozart himself said—his music’s “force and meaning."

I can’t wait to share the book with you! I can’t wait for your every performance of Mozart to be the most super you’ve ever had, filled with the energy that he gave it, through the means he gave us to enjoy it, and our listeners as well!

We can have SO MUCH FUN with this when you all have had a chance to train this approach! Thanks to all who have inquired about when the next workshop will be (TBA as soon as the book is done). Meanwhile, let’s have a conversation about Mozart’s music! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and I’ll respond to your communications (which you can send to Mozart7@peoplepc.com) in this “Mozartiana” space.

I also want to express my gratitude to the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation for their support this summer that is helping me with many aspects of the book, including photos for the method, music digitalizations, etc.

Best wishes for an enjoyable end to the summer and for all good things coming up for you!

Mary

Mozartiana #6 (Summer 2018)

Dear Friends,

I hope your summer was enjoyable.  Thanks to all who came to the Mozart Workshop & Recital July 27 and 28!  We had a truly memorable two days of exploring Mozart together!  

What a great group of musicians! I loved hearing their special reasons for coming.  One said she wanted “a better understanding of Mozart, because her music history class covered Bach, skipped over Mozart and went straight to Beethoven!“  (Yes, mine too!) More than one said that they were seeking "the joy in music.” (Yes, Mozart led us to it!)  One wanted a better way to teach Mozart, including to younger students. (Yes, little ones can learn to play Mozart’s five types of sounds!)

The earnest desire that everyone expressed was, in essence, for a closer connection with Mozart’s music. Serendipitously, my reason for giving the workshop was to give everyone a way to make that connection!  Mozart’s Five Types of Notes give us the closest possible connection to his music-- the specific sounds that connect us with its meaning!

Mozart amazed us.  We had a grand time— and the lovely space and Steinway grand provided by the Steinway Piano Gallery gave us the perfect setting!  We explored simple actions to play the five types of sounds —which never express the same thing twice, every moment having a fresh perspective and energy.  This freshness is Mozart's personality —and my performance was a demonstration of Mozart’s personality through hischoices of each note’s type of sound. 

This closeness to Mozart’s personality (what we sometimes call “interpretation") is highly invigorating, and available to all of us when we play the five types of sounds that he notated.

I look forward to many more explorations with all who desire to connect more deeply with Mozart’s music! (The next workshop is tentatively planned for the week of Mozart’s birthday in January 2019; stay tuned for details)! 

With all warmest wishes,

Mary

Exploring Mozart's Five Note Types #1

In the final section of Mozart’s D Minor Fantasy, we can see how different Note Types make a different musical effect.  The upbeat sixteenths to m.91 are Unmarked Notes. However, the upbeat sixteenths to m.93 are different note types: a Continuous Note, and a Last Note under a slur. 

The Unmarked Notes are released (non-legato), which allows them to proceed directly to the high D at the downbeat of m.91—an unhindered, ongoing, energetic movement that Mozart marked forte. 

The Continuous Note (legato) and Last Note Under a Slur (played a lesser dynamic and released) upbeat to m.93, however, creates a natural diminuendo. Even at a quick tempo, this striking difference (marked piano) lessens the energy of the sixteenths, which turns this final section toward a cadence.

Although the sixteenths' durational values might sound “approximate” or generally similar, their different note types create specific effects that bring each moment of the music more fully to life.  The subtle energetic differences that Mozart wrote through his choices of note types are the ultimate detail of his music’s artistry. By performing them, all musicians can communicate his music’s “force and meaning”—the messages he intended for his art.   (Pianists today can perform these five note types by training a slightly different use of weight, which will be demonstrated in the workshop on July 28).  

Mozartiana #4 (Winter 2018)

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I goofed!! Please accept my apologies and let me start over at this new beginning of a new year!  

Many thanks to all my teacher-friends who suggested changes to the MTNA-sponsored Mozart workshop I’ll give in July.  Originally I had planned it in response to a teacher’s comment (after a presentation I gave to her  MTA group) that I should show teachers the “touches” that produce the five types of sounds that Mozart shows us in his expression markings, so they can do it themselves if they want to.  Showing the touches would take more than an hour, so that was the idea behind the workshop.

Originally the Mozart workshop for July, 2018 was to be a two-day intensive training for producing Mozart's five types of sounds.  This was going to require an illustrated booklet (essentially a method book) and the printer’s estimate was astronomical!  Because of this, the registration was going to be so expensive that one teacher-friend recommended that I raise money for scholarships for teachers who couldn’t afford to attend.  I met with potential underwriters, which was time-consuming, plus I didn’t find any donors for the teachers’ scholarships!  

Meanwhile, other colleagues expressed a different view: “I think the workshop should show the difference Mozart’s system of five types of sounds makes in his music!  I’d like to hear that, then I can know if I want to do it or not!”   I absolutely agreed! 

So, the workshop has been changed.  It will now be one day (not two), on Saturday, July 28, 2018, at the Steinway Gallery in Austin, Tx, which is kindly co-sponsoring the workshop.  Instead of training, those attending will together investigate and share a conversation about what difference Mozart’s five types of notes make in our performances of his music on today’s pianos. I’ll demonstrate the touches for those who are interested. (And there won’t be a book to print so the cost is 75% less!)

I invite you to enjoy this exploration of what Mozart wrote in his music that shows us his thoughts about how he intended it to sound.  It will be exhilarating—like a conversation with Mozart himself!  PM me (or email me at mozart7@peopelpc.com) and I can send you the link for more information.

Mozartiana #3 (Summer 2017)

Greetings, Mozart Friends!
 

NEWS this month:

Four brief introductory videos, posted at the bottom of the JoyofMozart.com Home page, give an idea of the Joy of Music approach through demonstrations of excerpts from Mozart's piano sonatas.
The best news is that you can learn this approach in person!  

Come to a 2-day Mozart Performance Workshop for Performers and Teachers, July 27 and 28, 2018 in Austin, Texas! 

Train the ten simple actions for performing Mozart—on today’s piano—the way his expression markings tell us to play!  

To make a reservation:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mozart-mystique-a-2-day-workshop-for-teachers-and-performers-tickets-34954158830 .

The workshop is sponsored in part by MTNA, and Steinway Piano Gallery of Austin.  

Barbara Oakley wrote in her book “Mindshift” about “a change in your outlook that occurs through intensive learning.” Her mindshift about math led her to become a mathematician, although she had previous frustrations with math.

I had a mindshift about Mozart’s music that eliminated two longstanding frustrations.  One was that I felt that I couldn’t convey everything that I sensed was in Mozart's music in my performances (I also couldn’t hear this in others’ performances). I wondered: is it really possible to play Mozart well on the modern piano?  I cringed when I heard Mozart’s sonatas in an elevator as meaningless background music, and worried that if something couldn’t be done, Mozart's glorious music was headed for the garbage bin!  The other frustration was hearing performances of Mozart concertos ruined by cadenzas not in his style, which led me to study Mozart's cadenzas as my doctoral project and compose cadenzas in his style where his are missing.  

My mindshift began while studying transitions in his cadenzas, which revealed a surprising detail that I had not realized could affect the music at a formal level. I felt that seeing this detail was equivalent to being given a “gift,” since I’d never heard or read about it.  Not long afterward I dreamed that Mozart —a marble statue in my dream—gave me a gift, a beautiful ring!  While I was trying to figure out how to thank him, he winked at me and deftly slid it through my nose! I woke up in surprise! Mozart was going to lead me by the nose?  Well…, OK!   Some years after I had completed my doctorate, I spent 2 1/2 years composing 26 cadenzas, lead-ins and embellishments in his style; then he led me through his piano sonatas, where he answered each of my questions by pointing to the score, showing me the same type of detail he had shown me in his cadenzas.  One day, a scary thought crossed my mind: was this detail going to reveal the mystery and life of his music that I was seeking, or was it (a seemingly didactic point) going to be the death of the music’s life instead?  Over and over, I tested this this detail—which required that I develop a new technical approach on the modern piano—and I repeatedly came to the same conclusion: "This is the music’s Life!”   My mindshift was complete.

My quest for the life in Mozart’s music was a real-life, blindfolded “Magic Flute” trial by fire—an astonishing and sometimes confounding journey!  Just as I thought I had come through to the end of it, I felt the tug on the ring in my nose again: what I had found out wasn’t just for my sake, it was also for others to more deeply enjoy Mozart’s music!  And so I began writing the Joy of Mozart approach (on which I am working to finish!).  

I hope your summer is filled with wonderful music!

As Mozart said, 

"I kiss both your hands!” 

Mary

Mozartiana #2 (Winter 2017)

Dear fellow Mozartians!

I hope you enjoy much love and affection on Valentine’s Day— and perhaps some red-foil-wrapped pistachio and chocolate Kugeln with Mozart’s picture on top!  

As a fun Valentine’s game, I invite you to muse on the question: what does Mozart have to do with love?  Perhaps his sister Nannerl shared a clue in a childhood anecdote about Wolfie composing his first pieces, stopping and looking into the air as he said: ”I am trying to find the notes that love each other!”

While his endearing statement might seem simply naive, it puts forth a concept: love as a basis for musical relationships!  Did Mozart instinctually perceive the natural relationships of overtones and their underlying and compelling order (usually described in terms of mathematical ratios) as a form of love?  Although we might not consciously consider it, could this also be at the heart of our “love” of (i.e. great interest and pleasure in) his music?  

If it is true that we love those who love us, do we perhaps perceive a kind of “love” through his music that we respond to in kind?  Do Mozart's pure triadic (and diatonic) relationships induce us to trust (completely, with abandon) that he will bring resolution to potential conflicts of elemental musical forces?  Is this how his music has lifted our spirits, improved our outlooks and captured our hearts more times than we can remember?  Is this why we want to share Mozart’s music with others, to show them love?  Does this mean that Mozart’s music helps us love each other more?

While these musings make a fun Valentine game, I do think that ultimately Mozart’s music shows us our capacity— not only to love each other better, but also to appreciate great art, particularly the art of his music.  This is more exciting than Mozart Kugeln!

Discovering the relationships of Mozart's music—and especially how to present them in our performances—is what the Joy of Mozart is all about.  Stay tuned with us to “rediscover" Mozart in this way!

The Q & A

Q from TC:  “I was in Berlin recently, and there was a house where Mozart supposedly lived for a while; what did he do there?”

Dear TC,
Oh, it's time to get your hands on the letters of Mozart and his family that document his life while he was traveling!  Berlin is one of many cities where Mozart indeed spent time (including, sadly, in 1789—see details in the letters). Seek out translations by Emily Anderson, Robert Speathling, Hans Mersman— all are worthy reads!

Q from SJ, DS and others: “When will the method be ready?

Dear All,
The method—for performing five types of notes in Mozart’s music according to his expression markings—is quite an undertaking.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the method is taking due time as well.  Illustrations for the method's progressive exercises for students are currently being refined.  Editing of the correlating manual for performers and teachers is almost complete!  It explains the method as a response to the challenges of producing Mozart's system of sounds that bring his music to life on today’s piano, as well as crucial tips on how to teach the method to students. The Joy of Mozart site will announce when the two books are available!  Meanwhile, you can read a helpful orientation to the method in the article on the Joy of Mozart website (free) titled “Mozart: the Elephant in the Classroom.”  Enjoy!

Happy Valentine’s dear friends! As Mozart wrote, 
    I kiss your hand a thousand times!

Mary

Mozartiana (Summer, 2016)

Greetings, Everyone!  
We hope you’re enjoying lots of music this summer—and definitely as much Mozart as possible!  We celebrate our first Joy of Mozart newsletter along with the establishment of our beloved country's Independence, which of course occurred in Mozart’s lifetime!  Happy July!  

The Q & A:  Mozartiana will feature questions we receive from you, and also input and responses. So far we have mostly received inquiries concerning when the Righteous Mozart Manual and Method will be available.  Ah, life!  We gratefully report that miracles are real, concerning family medical issues!  Although they will continue through the fall months, work on Righteous Mozart has resumed. Thank you for your patience!

The first question about Mozart we received asked: “Is the Joy of Mozart site about performance practice?”  The short answer is that the JoM site is about Mozart’s style, and the fuller answer is a new article: “Integrity, Performance Practice and Mozart’s Cadenza Style”.  We hope you enjoy it!

News:  Speaking of cadenzas, we’re celebrating July with a bang!  A Cadenza Sale!  60% off (only for July)!  Use promo code "July2016" And you’ll also receive the new article!  Cheers!

May your summer be blissful!  

As Mozart said... I kiss your hand a thousand times,

Mary