For Wednesday, be sure to read Chapter 6 "The Master" and Chapter 7 "The Dramatist". The questions for these chapters are below--be sure to respond to at least 2 sets of questions by the time we finish the book on Friday.
Answer TWO of the following...
1. In general, what makes Mozart a "master" among great composers? What qualities or ideas does Gay single out in this chapter? Which specific works? Why wasn't Mozart generally hailed as master in his own day (aside from a few notable connoisseurs, such as Haydn, etc.)?
2. On page 108, Gay quotes Mozart as writing "It is my wish and my hope...to gain honor, fame and money." This doesn't always jive with our image as Mozart (or any artist) who writes because of God-given inspiration and wants to express the great truths of existence. How did Mozart balance the need to make money with creating true art (which he was clearly able to do)? You might also consider that in the end, he wasn't able to win the fame and money he truly wanted.
3. Opera as a form offers up a difficult problem for its audience: which is more important, the words or the music? Can a bad story be elevated by divine music? Similarly, can a marvelous story survive routine accompaniment? Mozart clearly felt that music won the day (as seen in his famous opera with a ridiculous plot, The Magic Flute), yet many operas have failed for lack of dramatic interest, despite the music. In a more modern sense, can you like a song that has terrible lyrics—or a bad song that has amazing lyrics? In short, which one might be the most important for creating ‘immortal’ art?
4. Consider the topics of
many Mozart operas, such as The Marriage
of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte: why were they seen as
outrageous or scandalous in their day?
What innovations do the stories themselves bring to opera and why might
Mozart have been compelled to write music for them?
Number 2: Keep in mind the letter where he said this statement was to his father, whom was always interested in Mozart making money it seems. I think it was easy for him to balance the need to make money and creating true art, or somewhat easy, because...the art was there, naturally and God given, he did not have to think about it much, it just came to him...the money part was an essential part of life that he realized without a doubt MUST be dealt with.
ReplyDeleteKay Shurtleff Number 4: I feel they were considered scandalous in their day due to their attention to class and social stature limitations and almost to the fact that brains trump over this class division. Perhaps he wrote the opera to get away from some of the outdated chamber type music to keep up with the times and to entertain, which always brings in more money.
ReplyDeleteWeston Haynes
ReplyDelete1.) I believe that Mozart was considered a "master" among great composers because of his young age and his ability to come up with symphonies very quickly. He was way ahead of his time when it came to composing and he was doing things that a musician or composer usually does not do at such a young age. He also made the concertos famous and in chapter 6 of the book, it talks about how Mozart had around 50 symphonies by his untimely death in 1791. He was 35 when he died, and the possibility of if he was alive longer, he would have easily beat Joseph Haydn's 108 symphonies (died at 77). The thought of that should make a appreciator of music praise Mozart for his ability to write symphonies at a unnatural pace. The older Mozart got the more mature his symphonies became. One of his works, particularly his last is his symphony "Jupiter" is a work that stems from Mozarts appreciation of Michael Haydn's symphony No. 28 in C major, which shows how Mozart was a man that respected other composers and their work. I believe these are reasons for being great. I don't think Mozart was appreciated as much because of the social status, and how musicians were not on top of the totem pole. Everybody couldn't hear the his music too. It didn't get around to everyone in Europe. Mozart also was stubborn. He was most appreciated by the later generations such as Beethoven.
2.) Mozart's talent for music just came naturally, and money was a very essential thing to have because without it you wouldn't survive. He could write symphonies quickly and was a hot topic around royals, so it wasn't like he was out of a job. He was always writing and composing for someone, and felt like he needed to keep making money to support his dad and wife. I felt like Leopold started driving this ambition into Mozart that he needed to make money to support him, his family, and his son. Being a musician at this particular time didn't mean you made a lot of money. You were looked at differently than you do now. You were trying to make enough to get by, and during Mozart's final years, that's all he did. He wanted to please his Dad, but sadly he was bled dry of money.
Nikki Ennis
ReplyDelete2. Fortunately for Mozart, I don't think he had to try very hard to balance the need for money with creating true art. True art seemed to just come to him no matter the extenuating circumstances. That was who he was. I think his inability to have the fortune and fame he wanted had more to do with the period in which he lived, and its overabundance of composers. At the time, original music was readily available, but only a select few have lasted-including Mozart.
3. I love music. But there's nothing I love more than good, unforgettable, life-changing lyrics. That being said, I often find myself liking a song I wish I didn't. Usually, its a song with a melody that just speaks to me, but with the most ridiculous lyrics. So I know its possible to like a song that excels in one aspect but fails miserably in the other. Whether or not one is more important than the other, I feel is subjective to the listener. For me, the lyrics are the most important element. For others, it may be the melody or beat.
Josh Coats
ReplyDelete2. I don't really know if he really balanced money and creating art. Mozart, unlike many of composers of the time, didn't have to do much editing to his music. The must just sort of flowed out of him, so whatever he put down on paper became art. Even though he didn't get his fame or money before he died, I think he'd be perfectly fine knowing that his music has stood the test of time. I think that may have been a driving force, a force of "what if."
3. As a vocalist, I find it really hard to relate to music if the diction is bad. Unfortunately, because English is the worst language to sing in, often times I don't "get" what the artist or composer is trying convey. This always leads me to creating my own spin on words and totally recreating content. The lyric to a song that has beautiful music can often be overlooked for because I get so caught up in listening to music for music's sake: beauty. If the music gives me the raised hair on the back of my neck, then I KNOW it's beautiful. When good words and beautiful music are combined, then aesthetically there is no telling where I can go from the music.
Amanda Hogue
ReplyDelete1) Mozart is a master among great composers because he composed enduring music that he didn’t revise in later years, he basically wrote perfection and knew it so he composed and acted like it. Cockiness and knowing you possess greatness, in my opinion, are two very different things, Mozart knew he was great and so he flaunted it through his music. He wrote beauty and played in a way that it wasn’t showing off and that was the way he displayed his skills and talent. He wrote many, many pieces without interruption supporting his natural pace of completing several pieces that would make later generations applaud him with exclamations. He wasn’t equally admired in his time because everyone was composing or making music, and he grew up, he wasn’t the seven year old show pony anymore, he composed mature music for that time but nothing made him stand out in his time period just because of the era he was born in.
2) The quote about Mozart wanting money and fame was written to his father, his father taught him everything he knew, of course he is going to tell his father that he wants all these things when his father built him to achieve that. He didn’t sell himself short for some fast cash, which is surprising because of his class, he held out and continued to make his masterpieces because knew that in the end he would then get everything he worked so hard for.
3) I can’t really hear the words in opera, I can hear the sounds and vowels the person sings but can make out the words more easily in non-opera songs. The lyrics and beat make a great song when they match each other, but lyrics can be complemented when the music or beat goes with it and helps to tell the emotion of the story when it gives it that certain oomph. On the other hand, you can surpass the lyrics if the beat is awesome enough to make you not really listen to the lyrics, for example, you dance to this one song all the time, become interested in what the lyrics are because you want to learn the song, and you look up the lyrics to find out it’s about a stalker or buying strippers or something way off the scale of anticipation and expectation. These three parts of a song are pretty vital if you want to sell but if you just want to make music then you design your own beats for your lyrics to go along with. If you look at each part separately then you can get an appreciation for the lyrics without the beat and vice a versa, but I do think if the song has an unpleasant beat then its lyrics most likely won’t get a second look.
4) His operas were so scandalous because he was writing something totally new, back then one didn’t assume to write for the ages, his operas revealed changing times, a new era that was coming and he wanted to write for it. Some innovations the stories bring to opera of a different time is every man has their own dignity, rights, and privileges through their determination and hard work, and it’s almost “offensive”, he’s writing about servants having the same rights as aristocrats in their house, where they enjoy themselves with tea and cookies, its bizarre. It makes complete sense Mozart is writing this rebellion because he is a type of servant and he knows he is better than the way he’s being treated, he deserves better so what other way to get noticed then by making it into an opera.
Stefan Schodlbauer
ReplyDelete1) From my point of view, Mozart was an incredible composer and better than other because he was really young when his music started playing. He was 8 years old and he was already a great composer. His father, Leopold, help him a lot to be one of the best composers in life. In his short life he got, close to 50 symphonies which is an incredible number. The total number of what he composed is over 600, which includes concertos, operas chamber, etc.
2) As we know, in that time, to be famous you had to move to Vienna, Austria because in that place you were in the best city of music. But for that, you had to have money and live in good places. You have to work a lot if you wanted to be famous. Also, Mozart's clothing was very expensive. I think that he wanted to be a good artist only, but if you do not have enough money to pay your fees and personal stuff you are not able to show your own music and became famous. If you have money, you can start to play in rich places were people can listen to your music, if not, you have to stay in your home and play for yourself.
summer Junek
ReplyDelete#1 Mozart was a master in his work because it was such a gift to him while others struggled to learn and succeed in this field he simply touched the keys and greatness was present especially at such a young age to be so focused and to already know what he was meant to be.
#4 In opera Mozart was able to tell the story in a different way in a way to him that was closer to the life he had known as well as the pressure from his father, this was his new way to capture a different kind of audience.
Walter Braxton Reeves
ReplyDelete1) To me, Mozart was a master among composers in his time because he had a gift like nobody else. Not only that, Mozart was forced into Music so in a sense, he no choice but to be great. Unlike a lot of composers of this time, Mozart began playing making music as a very young child. Which is probably the biggest reason why he was arguably the best.
4) In my opinion, Mozart's operas were so scandalous because it was something completely new to the music word. He opened up a new way to make music sound like a way of life and not like elevator music. When he made music, Mozart wanted you to feel emotions.
Ashley Barnes
ReplyDelete1) Mozart was considered a great among composers because of his amazing talent, a talent that was evident at a young age and continued to flourish throughout his short years. He was able to compose at such a fast pace, much quicker than others, he was talented in many genres and continued to learn and make his own voice so to speak in the composing world. His final 3 symphonies are some of his best work that he wrote rather quickly. He never got to perform these but maybe had hoped they would longer after he did.
4) The operas that he wrote were nothing like the ones that had been performed during the time, Gay discusses the fact that his father said that he had always had operas in his mind, even at a young age. It took him later in his composing life to get around to operas and they were far from boring. Mozart wanted to entertain with his operas and be something that was remembered, even if they weren't what was popular at the time. They were dramatic and demanded to be heard, he wanted to show something besides a happy ending and wanted to be controversial.
Aimee Elmore
ReplyDelete2.) I think the way Mozart balanced his need to make money is by not showing off. We said in class that Mozart shows off by not showing off. I think if Mozart actually showed off he would have made more money but it would have made greedy. He would have been more attracted to the money than the music. I also think that the reason Mozart wrote the best at the end of his life is because he didn't care about the money. He just cared about the music.
4.) I think Mozart did those operas because he could. He picked those because he wanted the attention. Any publicity weather it is good or bad it is still publicity. He wanted to be remembered anyway he could.
Shannon Southwell
ReplyDelete3.) Personally I feel like the music is more important. A person that is listening to a instrumental piece can interpret the music any way that see. It makes it that much easier for people to connect with music. In modern times I feel like the music is what draws us to want to listen to the song more. If you have bad music playing and no lyrics then most likely the person will change the song before the singing starts.
4.) Mozart probably composed those outrages operas because he wanted to see how people would respond to something that is not the norm. For instance, in Don Giovanni, the sinner - no matter what- did not repent his sins. He took almost pride in them. In the 1700's and even now a days, if someone finds out that they will be sent to Hell for their sins they will repent and repent as much as possible, but this guy he didn't. Mozart probably wanted to see what the audience would think.
Paul Sandy
ReplyDelete2) Mozart Shows his zeal for money by his ability to compose immediately upon request for payment. But he didn't stop composing just because he wasn't getting paid. I think that growing up with his father music was viewed externally as a business. But internally, Mozart viewed music as part of his being. When a person has a talent of his magnitude, they cannot help but let it express itself. Having said all that, Musicians were not the most lucrative positions to be held in his day. I like to try to compare them to celebrities from Hollywood in our time but I know they were not as revered.
4) What I found interesting about his offer was how celebrated they may be in one spot but not as welcome in another. I feel it said a lot about the way people in different regions view life and hold their own values. I would like to know more about why Prague embraced him and his works so fondly. It is no wonder why he like that place so much.
Destiny Coley
ReplyDelete2. I feel like Mozart didn't have to make a point to balance the two out. He had a God given talent so that was his way to fame. He had this talent that would make him the money he needed. All he had to do was take time to create the work and there was his money and fame all wrapped up in one.
3.I think it depends on each persons preferences. As for me, it can go either way. Some songs, the words are much more meaningful. In others, the music stands out more. I do think that a bad story can be made good just by music. It is easy with modern day music to like a song with terrible lyrics or the other way around. I think that great lyrics will create more immortal art because if you have touching lyrics people are more likely to remember that than if you were to just have a good rhythm.
Amory Morgan
ReplyDelete4.) They were considered scandalous because they were plays about sin and over powering higher powers. Back then their government was probably worried that the lower class could all get together and gang up on them and eventually over power them. I think he wrote them so that he could make a different kind of music than what everybody was used to in that time. Which i guess worked for him and made him money.
Stephanie Callen
ReplyDelete(1) Mozart was a 'master' among great composers because of the beautiful music he wrote and the short time he did it in. Gay states that "Never before in the history of Western music and never since, has a composer crowded into so short a time so many masterpieces in so many genres." Mozart's piano concertos represent him at his best. He also started at a very young age. I think it is amazing that he never had to go back to correct a note. Mozart wrote 27 piano concertos, with No. 20 or No. 24 favorites, fifty symphony-like compositions, string quartets, operas, and lots of other music. Mozart wasn't hailed as a master in his time because his competitors were more in the court's graces than he.
(4) Mozart's operas were seen as scandalous and outrageous because they were widely condemned as breaching the boundaries of decency. One might feel as if Mozart was celebrating moral ambiguity, by making a compulsive philanderer into an existential hero. Mozart's orchestration, using solemn trombones, creates an almost unbearable suspense to perfection. Mozart was compelled to write music for operas because he was a highly dramatic person.
Stormee Chestra
ReplyDelete(3) I believe you can like a song with terrible lyrics, because sometimes it's just about the beat or the way the song makes you feel when you listen to it.
(4) The reason people thought his music was bad was because it was on the verge on the indecent. They wanted to hear moral music that soothes you not music that provokes your inner feelings and bring them out.
Cristian C. Nazario Cruz
ReplyDelete1.) Mozart was the best composer of the century because of the great talent God gave to him. He was Great because he was able to make the best music, since he was 8 years old and with the pass of the time he was getting better and better. He made more music in his young age than anybody else. With his music he changed the emotions of people, the people was able don't just to hear but also to feel his music, was something magic. Definetly he was the Master among great composers. Gay said he never saw a composer made so many master pieces, in so many genres. Mozart wrote 27 piano cencertos.
He wasn't hailed as a master in his own day because of his background, poor family and because he made many operas with scandalous topic.
4.) In Mozart century the people was used to the same clasic music, but Mozart was different and unique. Mozart intentions was, made people feel music. He think, music was more than music, music was life. Music is supposed to be part of your life. He made music with different type of topics, many of them were about sin and powering higher power. He was new he was unique and when people see something new and different, they will think is something scandalous, until they get used to it.
Walter Braxton Reeves
ReplyDelete1. The one fact that always makes Mozart a little better than others of his time period, is the fact that he started playing when he was just a young boy! Like the man didn't even get a childhood, because he was forced by his father to play day after day, hour after hour. I feel as if everyone else didn't start as young as he did, so he really had no choice but to be great. The only reason I could see him not being recognized as the best in his time was simply because his attitude and arrogance.