Great! After listening to your video I played through the whole sonata (a long time I didn't do that!) and rediscovered its beauty. The second movement is particularly gorgeous! Thanks!
Thank You! You have not mentioned one of the aspects I find most amazing about this sonata and a challenge to beginners. When he repeats the main theme in F, the scale run is done by the left hand with a simple accompaniment by the right hand in full contrast with the main theme in C. Again, very simple but quite clever use of symmetry and balance.
It is so nice to see how you are emotional about these subjects. One feels, at times, that for some teachers of music, it is just a drill, and not an exciting process of discovery of this great phenomenon. that is music. I am so glad I feelI it this way. Thank you.
Actually, I'm a wannabe jazz guitarist who in my lessons is learning a modicum of theory (more than I ever knew before) and even for me your explication made perfect sense where as a year or two ago I would have been baffled by all the terms and 'what is going on'. I've already subscribed and visit regularly, Thanks, Gareth.
My last piano teacher did not provide a formal analysis of pieces she taught, we simply read the notes; I am glad you do provide them. Also, when you use the d-word inaccurately or flippantly, it is blasphemous.
Simple question. I am 58 and I have been playing the guitar stumbling along with just about with basic music theory since I was 15. Jimi Hendrix for example died when he was 27 and couldn’t read a note but he is one of Nigel Kennedy’s musical heroes- is it too late for me to go that deep now considering that?
Thank you again for another fascinating analysis. Do you think Mozart made calculated decisions while he was writing to switch things up (like with the Neapolitan chord)? With the sheer volume of pieces Mozart wrote in his brief life, I can't imagine him agonizing too much over such details. It's almost like he was somehow drawing from a deeper creative well than many of his contemporaries, and just captured the ideas as they flowed out of him.
I think there’s a lot in that. He was a instinctive genius even though he had loads of technique. It’s helpful for us to take it apart and to understand what he was doing.
@@MusicMattersGB I suspect it was a combination of his natural ear for melody - some do have it better than others - working together with his technical ability. A good example might be: in a caffe latte, what's the milk and what's the coffee?
Mozart called it ‘a little sonata for beginners’, but it was published posthumously as a ‘Sonata facile’* (easy sonata) which is the name that has stuck. Unfortunately, around the world the title is mispronounced with alacrity. * The title is *Italian* (not French), so the correct pronunciation of ‘facile’ is: *’fah*-chee-leh’ (not ‘fass-eel’).
As a musicologist ignoramus who loves music in all of its iterations I wonder, as a factor of my ignorance, is this chicken, or egg? I mean, based purely on its attractiveness to the untutored ear, do the musicologists feel it necessary to catalogue the construction and parcel magic up in logical building blocks? Whichever direction you favour I will always be impressed by skill, knowledge ability. and collegiality.
@@MusicMattersGB Thank you for your response. I understand and agree completely with your assessment. Thank goodness there are those with knowledge and skill. In many cases the result of a lifetimes dedication and study, to dissect and understand. Even more thanks that the magic still exists after the dissection. .
That is not correct. Mozart called it ‘a little piano sonata for beginners’. K545 was published posthumously with the Italian title ‘Sonata facile’* (easy sonata). The Italian word ‘facile’ being pronounced correctly: *’fah*-chee-leh’, (not the French ‘fass-eel’).
Hate to pour cold water, but I challenge anyone to listen to this piece for one hour on a loop. Simplicity may have beauty on first hearing, but it soon sounds like a drill inside your head. Good in small doses. I'm glad he found religion (Bach) after a while and went on to write things like Don Giovanni, the Requiem and the Magic Flute. This piece, Eine Kleine, and many more set my teeth on edge. Like Beethoven's Fur Elise. I've even learned to hate the Rondo alla Turca, something I used to like. But simplicity just doesnt have staying power. It's like eating sticky buns. One is nice.
The vehicle doesn't necessarily deliver the expected message. The genius does not lie in the vehicle, but how the artists turns it to his/her use. That is why one must look behind the veil to be enlightened.
I don't believe there is any level of complexity that can defeat a looper. Give a looper enough time and it will destroy any kind of music. Loopers are evil.
It might be the bias I have against Mozart speaking but is he really a genius? I mean not only do I not like his music but I did my research into him and he was a pretty horrible person maybe apart from to his family. I know Geniuses can be people you don't like but there's nothing I have seen unlike Beethoven or Bach or Chopin that makes me go well yes I don't like it but he's a genius. To me yes he may have sort of twisted sonata form here but many composers tended to break convention to achieve some effect that they wanted. I don't know, like I say it may be my bias. What's your thoughts?
But you don't know people from 100s of years ago, let alone the times they lived in. You are just going by opinions given by others who will also not have known them fully. And the kind of composers you mention were very single minded, their life was music. So it makes sense to concentrate on that.
I'm sorry but it's just my opinion. I really don't like Mozart. I appreciate his simplicity but I really can't stand a lot of his music. I wished this video changed it but it didn't but appreciate the video regardless. I think the only piece I like of his is Ave Verum which is gorgeous but I really don't like his style. Prefer bach, chopin, Debussy, Brahms basically most other composers.
I think it's really hysterical to hear people on this thread malign Mozart with the sentiment of "I don't like him, so he can't be a genius" or "he was a horrible person, so I doubt he was a genius" or my personal favorite: "simplicity just doesn't have staying power"--possibly the stupidest sentence ever written in the English language. The ancient Romans coined the word "genius" meaning a spirit, who was born with you at birth, gave you your personality and disposition, and guided you throughout your life. If someone was especially good at something, the Romans believed "that is the genius with him doing it" Gradually throughout hundreds of years, by the Enlightenment period, the term had changed from "having a genius" to "being a genius" Mozart's ability in music manifested when he was a small child. It was "born with him." His father monetized his son's talent, having him perform before the great courts of Europe to astounded audiences. Mozart's fortunes rose and fell, but his talent was as commonplace to him as breathing or talking is to another person. If you look at his original manuscripts, there are no mistakes, no crossed out lines, no false starts. There are a ton of "unfinished" Mozart pieces--and scholars have been puzzling for years WHY they were unfinished when he generally worked and produced so fast. And their conclusion was: These were non-commissioned pieces. They probably came to him when has walking around, or playing with his children, or when he was eating a strudel, or whenever. And he stopped writing these pieces because he heard the ending already in his head. He didn't HAVE to write the ending down. It was so self evident to him HOW the piece should end, he didn't even bother writing it down. Composers, scholars, and musicologists for two hundred years have attempted to "finish" his pieces, with varying results. Mozart's widow, in order to generate income (he was destitute at his death) gave other contemporary composers some of the unfinished pieces. The point is: Mozart's life is one of THE perfect examples of what a "genius" is. it doesn't matter if his music doesn't suit you. You can criticize it all you want as fluff, or simplistic. The fact that we are talking about it 250 years later is proof that simplicity does, in fact, have "staying power"
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Gareth is to music what Bob Ross was to painting. I've learned a lot from this channel.
That’s most kind
Great! After listening to your video I played through the whole sonata (a long time I didn't do that!) and rediscovered its beauty. The second movement is particularly gorgeous! Thanks!
It’s a wonderful piece
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.” - Charles Mingus
😀
Thank You! You have not mentioned one of the aspects I find most amazing about this sonata and a challenge to beginners. When he repeats the main theme in F, the scale run is done by the left hand with a simple accompaniment by the right hand in full contrast with the main theme in C. Again, very simple but quite clever use of symmetry and balance.
Good point.
My favourite video yet Gareth, superb...! Can’t thank you enough! Loved your playing of the second subject, I was floating away somewhere lovely. 🎈
That’s very kind. Lovely piece
It is so nice to see how you are emotional about these subjects. One feels, at times, that for some teachers of music, it is just a drill, and not an exciting process of discovery of this great phenomenon. that is music. I am so glad I feelI it this way. Thank you.
Absolutely agree
I can't believe that you uploaded this video, i'm studying sonata form you are awesome
That’s great
Thanks for your beautifuls analysis. Greets from Argentina 🇦🇷 ❤️
A pleasure. Greetings to you too.
Can't believe it, Mozart is my fav. THANK YOU for this video and best wishes!
Fabulous
Actually, I'm a wannabe jazz guitarist who in my lessons is learning a modicum of theory (more than I ever knew before) and even for me your explication made perfect sense where as a year or two ago I would have been baffled by all the terms and 'what is going on'. I've already subscribed and visit regularly, Thanks, Gareth.
That’s great. You’re on an exciting journey
Love the analysis. It is such a melodic and memorable piece. I guess that is due, in part, to its simplicity.
Absolutely
Thank you for the analysis. I especially like the N6.
It’s a great chord
I like returning to the tonic via the subdominant. Mastering theory well enough to be able to change it.
Excellent
My last piano teacher did not provide a formal analysis of pieces she taught, we simply read the notes; I am glad you do provide them. Also, when you use the d-word inaccurately or flippantly, it is blasphemous.
I don’t think we use that word
Looks simple but very challenging to master the perfect eveness and balancing aspect from the first movement.
Yes. Mozart is often deceptive in that regard.
Great analysis, thanks!
A pleasure
Simple question. I am 58 and I have been playing the guitar stumbling along with just about with basic music theory since I was 15. Jimi Hendrix for example died when he was 27 and couldn’t read a note but he is one of Nigel Kennedy’s musical heroes- is it too late for me to go that deep now considering that?
It’s never too late. I’ve taught and examined musicians in their 90’s!
I think of the recapitulation as returning home after a period of hard work.
😀
Thanks
A pleasure
Thank you again for another fascinating analysis. Do you think Mozart made calculated decisions while he was writing to switch things up (like with the Neapolitan chord)? With the sheer volume of pieces Mozart wrote in his brief life, I can't imagine him agonizing too much over such details. It's almost like he was somehow drawing from a deeper creative well than many of his contemporaries, and just captured the ideas as they flowed out of him.
I think there’s a lot in that. He was a instinctive genius even though he had loads of technique. It’s helpful for us to take it apart and to understand what he was doing.
@@MusicMattersGB I suspect it was a combination of his natural ear for melody - some do have it better than others - working together with his technical ability. A good example might be: in a caffe latte, what's the milk and what's the coffee?
Didn't he publish this as an "easy" piece for people learning or practicing the piano?
😀
Mozart called it ‘a little sonata for beginners’, but it was published posthumously as a ‘Sonata facile’* (easy sonata) which is the name that has stuck.
Unfortunately, around the world the title is mispronounced with alacrity.
* The title is *Italian* (not French), so the correct pronunciation of ‘facile’ is:
*’fah*-chee-leh’
(not ‘fass-eel’).
And of course it’s not that easy!
Thank you@@elaineblackhurst1509
@jbkingesq9889 😀
Supper
Excellent
As a musicologist ignoramus who loves music in all of its iterations I wonder, as a factor of my ignorance, is this chicken, or egg? I mean, based purely on its attractiveness to the untutored ear, do the musicologists feel it necessary to catalogue the construction and parcel magic up in logical building blocks? Whichever direction you favour I will always be impressed by skill, knowledge ability. and collegiality.
It’s really more about getting behind how a composer achieved something magical.
@@MusicMattersGB Thank you for your response. I understand and agree completely with your assessment. Thank goodness there are those with knowledge and skill. In many cases the result of a lifetimes dedication and study, to dissect and understand. Even more thanks that the magic still exists after the dissection.
.
That’s most kind
❤
😀
It is called a 'simple' sonata.
Deceptive !
That is not correct.
Mozart called it ‘a little piano sonata for beginners’.
K545 was published posthumously with the Italian title ‘Sonata facile’* (easy sonata).
The Italian word ‘facile’ being pronounced correctly:
*’fah*-chee-leh’,
(not the French ‘fass-eel’).
Hate to pour cold water, but I challenge anyone to listen to this piece for one hour on a loop. Simplicity may have beauty on first hearing, but it soon sounds like a drill inside your head. Good in small doses. I'm glad he found religion (Bach) after a while and went on to write things like Don Giovanni, the Requiem and the Magic Flute. This piece, Eine Kleine, and many more set my teeth on edge. Like Beethoven's Fur Elise. I've even learned to hate the Rondo alla Turca, something I used to like. But simplicity just doesnt have staying power. It's like eating sticky buns. One is nice.
I can understand that as a perspective
The vehicle doesn't necessarily deliver the expected message. The genius does not lie in the vehicle, but how the artists turns it to his/her use. That is why one must look behind the veil to be enlightened.
Absolutely
I don't believe there is any level of complexity that can defeat a looper. Give a looper enough time and it will destroy any kind of music. Loopers are evil.
Depends how subtle it is
😀
It might be the bias I have against Mozart speaking but is he really a genius? I mean not only do I not like his music but I did my research into him and he was a pretty horrible person maybe apart from to his family. I know Geniuses can be people you don't like but there's nothing I have seen unlike Beethoven or Bach or Chopin that makes me go well yes I don't like it but he's a genius. To me yes he may have sort of twisted sonata form here but many composers tended to break convention to achieve some effect that they wanted. I don't know, like I say it may be my bias. What's your thoughts?
So much is personal preference. Whether or not one likes him or his music he was a genius.
But you don't know people from 100s of years ago, let alone the times they lived in. You are just going by opinions given by others who will also not have known them fully. And the kind of composers you mention were very single minded, their life was music. So it makes sense to concentrate on that.
😀
I'm sorry but it's just my opinion. I really don't like Mozart. I appreciate his simplicity but I really can't stand a lot of his music. I wished this video changed it but it didn't but appreciate the video regardless. I think the only piece I like of his is Ave Verum which is gorgeous but I really don't like his style. Prefer bach, chopin, Debussy, Brahms basically most other composers.
You’re perfectly entitled to that opinion. There’s so much wonderful music in the world. Enjoy what touches you.
I think it's really hysterical to hear people on this thread malign Mozart with the sentiment of "I don't like him, so he can't be a genius" or "he was a horrible person, so I doubt he was a genius" or my personal favorite:
"simplicity just doesn't have staying power"--possibly the stupidest sentence ever written in the English language.
The ancient Romans coined the word "genius" meaning a spirit, who was born with you at birth, gave you your personality and disposition, and guided you throughout your life. If someone was especially good at something, the Romans believed "that is the genius with him doing it" Gradually throughout hundreds of years, by the Enlightenment period, the term had changed from "having a genius" to "being a genius"
Mozart's ability in music manifested when he was a small child. It was "born with him." His father monetized his son's talent, having him perform before the great courts of Europe to astounded audiences. Mozart's fortunes rose and fell, but his talent was as commonplace to him as breathing or talking is to another person.
If you look at his original manuscripts, there are no mistakes, no crossed out lines, no false starts.
There are a ton of "unfinished" Mozart pieces--and scholars have been puzzling for years WHY they were unfinished when he generally worked and produced so fast. And their conclusion was: These were non-commissioned pieces. They probably came to him when has walking around, or playing with his children, or when he was eating a strudel, or whenever. And he stopped writing these pieces because he heard the ending already in his head. He didn't HAVE to write the ending down. It was so self evident to him HOW the piece should end, he didn't even bother writing it down. Composers, scholars, and musicologists for two hundred years have attempted to "finish" his pieces, with varying results. Mozart's widow, in order to generate income (he was destitute at his death) gave other contemporary composers some of the unfinished pieces.
The point is: Mozart's life is one of THE perfect examples of what a "genius" is. it doesn't matter if his music doesn't suit you. You can criticize it all you want as fluff, or simplistic. The fact that we are talking about it 250 years later is proof that simplicity does, in fact, have "staying power"
Absolutely
Constanza apparently destroyed many of his drafts and sketches for surviving works but about 320 still survive. So he did do sketches.
😀