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