Mozart FANTASIA in D minor: What's up with the Ending? - Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ย. 2020
- Mozart's Fantasy or Fantasia in D minor is somewhat unusual in several respects. First, the form is free from the usual sonata structure and instead presents a collection of ideas and themes after each other. Second, the character is much darker than the typical Mozart in major keys (until the second part arrives in D major). And third, Mozart didn't actually write the ending that have come to be part of the piece as we know it! Find out all about it in this video with pianist Henrik Kilhamn.
0:37 Introduction
1:35 Analysis
18:43 Ending controversy
21:16 Alternative ending (Mitsuko Uchida)
Correction: 17:48 should obviously be a B minor, not D major.
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W. A. Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K.397 (1782)
📄 Score: Breitkopf & Härtel edition, 1878, imslp.org
Sources:
- Paul Hirsch: “A Mozart Problem” (1944)
See also:
- Ephraim Hackmey: "Mozart's Unfinished Fantasy - Thoughts about the Fantasy in D minor, K. 397" (2012)
- Michael Davidson. “Mozart and the Pianist: a Guide for Performers and Teachers to Mozart’s Major Works for Solo Piano” (2001)
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Its fascinating that Mozart did not complete the piece, and we can only wonder why that was. We don't think of him as struggling to conceive his music, do we? This fantasie is so varied in its moods and styles. The coda we have is unimaginative and perfunctory. I hope more pianists will draw on their own imaginations and create ways of ending the piece, as Uchida did.
Robert Levin noted that this piece was published as "fantasie d'introduction" (pardon my probably wrong French spelling), and therefore, the fantasy is not actually "incomplete", but rather, after the V7 chord at which Mozart "ends" the fantasy, one should immediately begin playing a sonata in D Major.
@@GSHAPIROY that's 'fascinating'!
@@GSHAPIROYwhich sonata?
@@nitey123 Any Sonata in D Major. Mozart wrote three of them, Beethoven wrote two...you get the idea.
No!!! Don't touch the end!!!
This is such a great channel that doesn’t have nearly as many views as it should. I love your videos!
Edit: Also I want to point out you remind me a lot of Edward Snowden haha
Don't tell the authorities.
He made me start piano lessons now am a classical pianist. Thanks to his wonderful insights
Thank you for showing that last "alternative" ending I've never heard it before and it's just so refreshing and new I love it!
The profound analysis you have provided merits my heartfelt gratitude. Not a single one of the piano instructors with whom I have previously crossed paths has dedicated such a substantial amount of effort to meticulously scrutinize a musical composition. As a result, I ceased searching for a teacher and have, for the past twelve months, practiced on my own. Your insightful commentary has reignited hope in myself and other piano enthusiasts, inspiring us to pursue the art of interpreting a piece, rather than simply playing it. I strongly believe that all the techniques a pianist learns serve the purpose of fulfilling the composer's musical interpretation. Once again, I express my sincerest appreciation for the time and exertion you have invested in providing such valuable insight.
Je dis une nouvelle fois à quel point je suis émerveillé par vos conseils si justes, par le plaisir que nous transmet le meilleur professeur de piano que je connaisse! A 75 ans je vous remercie pour le bonheur que vous nous procurez! Jacques Gonnet
thank you man! ever since I stopped taking piano lessons I missed being taught music!
THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH! This is my absolute favourite Mozart piano piece! I knew that there was some controversy about the ending, I remeber my piano teacher talking about that, but I never knew exactly what. I only discovered it now, with your video, more than 10 years later of playing this masterpiece. This made me so happy, OMG. And that Uchida's ending is pure gold! Thank you, really
Thanks, I'm so happy to hear this :)
I'm a composer, and before you mentioned what Uchida does when I heard that final A7 chord I thought ahhh it is supposed to go back to the start! As usual, Uchida has the right idea!
Loved the video, have loved the piece for a long time. I did not know about the ending and I had only ever known Uchida's ending. It's beautiful
Just found the channel with this video. Loved it! Thanks a lot!
That part of the end is really interesting. Beautiful and charming piece, I love these exolanations you made, Thanks as always❤❤❤❤
What a pleasure to watch you play. This piece is out of my reach at present, but I have listened to it several times following along with the sheet music. Your tutorial was a delight! For now I enjoy working on Mozart's simpler works.
I like the Uchida ending better. Thanks for playing it. It works better - and it’s all Mozart.
Wow. I played this piece a couple years ago but I never realised, that there's so much brilliance to it.
Superb breakdown of this masterpiece. Great playing. Excellent being able to hear the lecture, music, and score.
This is great analysis! so helpful for a music student like me! Thank you very much!
Gracias por enseñarnos el tutorial de esta partitura, una de mis favoritas, aunque hoy he aprendido mucho con sus enseñanzas, es un lujo para los pianistas, que nos enseñen la partitura como hoy la he escuchado, gracias, gracias,gracias💕💕💕
Thank you very much for your wonderful, step by step explanation of the piece itself and the historical background. I actually personally like the ending that you played. This is completely my personal preference to end the fantasia in the same mournful note as the beginning. I am looking forward to all your interpretation.
Oh I love Mozart so much, my aunt was from Salzburg.
I still can’t play the last quick part, so I end before that on a nice d major chord and declare the piece finished - I hope the Mozart police doesn’t arrest me for doing this!
Another manageable Mozart piece is the 2nd mvt of the 23rd concerto, would be great to have an analysis of it.
Thanks again for your great work!
Uchida's ending brings to mind the ending to Schubert's 4-hand Fantasy in f minor, which goes back to its opening too.
Wonderful analysis! Thank you!
That's right. I didn't say in the video which ending I prefer, because I haven't made up my mind yet. It gives it an epic quality if tying the piece together but I'm not sure that it's warranted because it's still a quite brief piece. The Schubert fantasy in contrast is a complete epic work so there it couldn't really be any other way!
Of course, the Mozart C minor Fantasy does that too.
That opening (the one for the D minor) feels a little Bach-like to me with its shifting harmonies.
@@SonataSecretsuchidas ending is not creative sorry to say ,
Mine is!
Check it out here :
th-cam.com/video/NhPEx8kNEi0/w-d-xo.html
It's original yet not too far off from the melody lines used by Mozart ..
The chromaticism is similar but there's of original effect my own .
I believe ending would sound like this .
It ends right on the key of d too ☝️🤓👌😂
Even the birds like my ending ..they are singing in background
I'm learning so much on this analysis videos. Keep it up with the good work.
I'm glad you like them!
You have done it again! Thank you!
Lovely. You're an amazing Pianist. Your touch is superb. Thank you very much for the lesson. Well Done!
Thank you. I have learned so much from you these past two years.
Keep it up Henrik!!
As a concert artist I have always loved the Fantasia in D Minor and learn it first around 8 years old.
Thanks for this very interesting piece . I will learn it this week
You are a master and obviously so passionate about this. I wish I could study with you.
Thank you for the beautiful performance with analysis! It certainly unearthed the composer's motif and enhanced audience's appreciation of the piece!!
Thank you! :)
I played this piece about 15 years ago, It's so great to see you analyzing it!
I know exactly how you feel at 13:14 - so satisfying! But my favorite part is actually 13:41, something about that high E always gives me a twinge in my heart.
Yes, that's such a great moment!
th-cam.com/video/NhPEx8kNEi0/w-d-xo.html
Great video! Really helped me understand this piece and appreciate it a lot more. Regarding the ending: if we know the first edition didn't include the ending, why play anything at all after the ending of the first edition? I like both versions, the joyful ending written by Müller and the more melancholic one proposed by Ushida, but didn't Mozart intend for the piece to end after measure 91?
Thank you so much!
Your all videos are helping me a lot!!!
Thank you, I'm happy to hear it!
love your channel
thanks for making these
Thanks Gabriel!
Thank you so much that was very helpful
The Uchida ending makes more musical sense than the 1806 B&H edition.
Wow very persuasive ending! I heard pianist Jongdo An's different version, too. That one is also quite lyrical.
Nobody:
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Great video! I suscribe to your channel! I really love that Fantasia. I have some questions about fingering in Mozart pieces of piano.
1) When there are some repeated notes, do you play them with one finger or with many of them?
2) When there are octaves in one hand do you use 1 and 5 finger or switching 5, 4, and 3 finger with the thumb to play them more legato?
3) Is it right to play patterns with same fingering? For example the ending of the intro before the main theme.
Thank you very much and have a great day!
Amazing. Thank you very much.
I don’t have a teacher so your videos are like beautiful lessons to me.
Again, thank you, very much.
Glad to hear it! :)
I love that melancholic piece but I never understood why there are those "presto" cadences. For me, they break the thread of the melody. Thank you for that insightful analysis!
Great stuff!
Very well explained ! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Beeindruckende Analyse! Dankeschön, Grüße aus Argentinien!
Love your channel
Gracias maestro💕💕💕
Thank you so much for the wonderful lesson!!
You're welcome!
I love this piece. I love this video.
Edit: and I love both endings
I notice that a lot of really good players like Walter Klein take the piece very slow. I think it is because they want to play the cadenza passages in time. One thing I like about Mozart is that he usually maintains a continuous pulse through a piece (even if there might be rhubato, this is never lost). This was one of the first pieces I learned to play by Mozart because I loved the opening. As I grow older I have taken more to some other pieces Mozart wrote because I am not so keen on the Beethovenish tempo changes in the Fantasia.
I prefer it without any extra ending, given the whole character of the piece, I like the unresolved ending.
I enjoy your videos. There are not enough channels about analysing and understanding classical music.
I wish you would also talk about how to compose yourself. I always have nice motifs and ideas which I can develop but I always end up by not ending up. My piece always gets longer and longer and then I write a new melody. Im lacking the structure to wrap everything up into one piece.
Thanks! Well, it would be hard to do that since I don't compose much myself as of yet.
It sounds like maybe you should try to have a longer plan for a piece, and let the material play out within that frame maybe?
I recorded the next Mozart video yesterday and I actually allude to the composing process there!
During the Andante section four bars before the fermata feels very Elliott Goldenthal. Warming sounds
Thanks, learned a lot.
I love your emotional analysis! If you ever analyze the second movement of Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata, then I would rest in peace.
Thanks!
Wonderful work!
That's a cool movement, a mix of a stable and calm melody over an unhappy restless bass line.
Very interesting , thank you
Belíssima interpretação
Fantastic analysis! I learned so much
This may be my favorite video
Check out the lecture by Robert Levin, where he, I believe correctly, explains that the fantasy was supposed to end with the dominant chord and was meant to be played before a D major piece of the performer's choice. Composers of the 18th and 19th centuries would improvise fantasies as introductions or modulatory transitions between the works they performed, but this fantasia is an example of a piece meant for amateur musicians who did not possess improvisational skills.
This channel is great
Check Gould's version of this fantasia. It's somewhat bizarre, full of interesting ideas, and it totally works better than any other version I've heard.
Thank u . Interesting
I don't know anything about Paul Hirsch, but I noticed that he studied this problem in 1944. In an odd way, I found that encouraging; in the midst of the most violent confrontations the world had ever seen, still people were trying to go about their lives, scholarship included, hoping, I suppose, that the war would end one day and the academic/scholarly pursuits would survive. Hitler: gone; Mozart: survived.
The book I have with this piece included has cut time, but I have only heard it performed slowly and I was so confused!
Tyvärr är jag 1 timme försenad för att se den här nya videon från din kanal. Jag studerade för alltid min bok: Elementary Studies Duvernoy, men jag hoppas fortfarande kunna utvecklas efter cirka 100 års studier. Idag har jag en ledig dag att studera. Jag är motiverad 🤓. 👏👍
Du kan kolla på videon även om du är en timme sen
@@Samuel-Samuel1 Naturligtvis vet jag det. Problemet är att jag ville vara den första som tittade på videon 😆
Perfect day to practice then! :)
Thanks for the video, which is excellent as always. I have a question. You describe the chord in measures 3 and 4 as being a g-minor with an additional e (6th note of the chord). Is it true that the notes of this chord are also the notes of a half-diminished 7th chord with a root of e? If that is true, how do you decide whether to think of the chord as a g-minor or a half-diminished e? Is there something about the surrounding context that tells you which way to describe it?
That's an excellent question and I have actually struggled with it myself, not least after I made this video. Those two types of chord have the same notes, and I think they are very similar in character so in a way I choose the easiest one to describe... But for a more extensive analysis there are subtle differences depending on the scale degree root (and the type that follows). When they come in root position, it's easy to hear the nuance depending on the intervals that forms within the harmony - the hd is slightly more open with a clear 7th, and the m6 is more tight with a 2nd between the 5 and 6. But then they come in an inversion, like here, I'm not always sure. The issue keeps coming up in different pieces. I got many comments in a video about Rachmaninoff's prelude in G minor where I said iv6, but some people insisted that it was hd on ii, and I think they were right there.
Wow, the Gulda version sounds great. The tension unfolds on a complete different level.
Thank you sir for this demonstration,
@9:20 what's the best fingering on left hand when playing the 3rds?
I'm still learning piano, however self taught..
So I use from where the thirds start on a+c in LH:
35, 24, 13, 35, 24, 13, 12, then 1 on the A and the same in that bar.
Bellissimo
If you think Mozart's Fantasia in D minor (K.397) was interesting, you would have a field day analyzing Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor (BWV 903).
Intressant!
I've seen the half note take the beat in 2 tempo extremes, the extremely slow and extremely fast. And I see different time signatures more often in these, 2/2 often in extremely fast and 3/2 often in extremely slow. I can see why it occurs in both extremes.
In Extremely Fast: Momentum is very fast, feels like eighth notes, but maybe the notes aren't quite furious enough to be designated Presto, even though that's what it feels like, so you get an Allegro in 2/2 instead of a Presto in 4/4. ex. Pathetique Sonata, Beethoven
In Extremely Slow: The momentum is very slow, so much so that the quarter note actually feels too fast to be the beat, the quarter note feels like your normal eighth note. So instead of an Adagio in 3/4, you get a Largo in 3/2. ex. Egmont Overture, Beethoven(albeit, only the introduction of this feels slow, probably because it's in French Overture form(which often forgos the second slow section))
Both have to do with the quarter note feeling like the eighth note. But why is it more common for me to see 2/2 in pieces with the speed of a Presto such as the Pathetique Sonata and even in Prestos themselves such as the Presto of Chopin's Piano Sonata in C minor(I mean the presence in Prestos could simply have to do with the fact that duple meter is more common than quadruple meter in Prestos(most Prestos I've heard are in 2/4, though some are in 3/4 or 4/4) and 3/2 in pieces that are super slow when in theory, any half note time signature could be used for both tempo extremes?
I'm not sure if I understand your question right, because 2/2 and 3/2 are very different because its either duple or triple time, which is inherent in the music. If the question is why not 2/4 or 3/4 instead, that is harder to say because it would be mathematically equivalent. I suppose it's a matter of convention to write extremely fast music with half notes on the beat, maybe because it would save more ink than to write 8th and 16th note beams everywhere...
The one I really don't understand in this way is Beethoven Op 111 mvt 2, why it is in 9/16 instead of 9/8 which would be much easier to write throughout he whole movement!
Regarding the speed of the introduction, as I understand it, the 1804 edition uses cut C as the time signature (cf the modern edition by Willard A Palmer transcribed from a photocopy of that 1804 edition). We don't know if the Breitkopf edition from 1806 used the lost manuscript, but the 1804 surely must have done. I have not seen the 1806 edition, but am making an assumption based on the later B&H edition from the later 1800s which I presume uses their "house edition" as their basis and uses C as the time signature: which I interpret as them retaining as C from their own 1806 edition. On balance, I'd go for cut C as correct, as both being the original source and which also makes sense with the Adagio sections, which at whatever tempo you use surely are not four-in-a-bar: that is musical nonsense to my ear.
Henrik: This is a fantasy, or fan-TAY-zha...
Me: Uhm, fan-ta-SEE-a?
Great video as always. :)
Excellent video. Thank you! I tried signing up for your Patreon but a message stated that it is closed. Is this true?
Thanks so much for the interest on Patreon! I only realized this now, but I have "paused" a Patreon charge for one month since I will not be putting out new videos during this time. Apparently no new patrons can sign up during this pause unfortunately. It will be resumed on January 22nd, and hopefully I will not have as many pauses in the future. But for now I can only say try again a bit later! (and I don't want to unpause now that it's already announced to my existing patrons...)
Thank you. I will try later this month. Happy New Year!
The second chord I would say is E half-dim 7th not g minor with a sixth, that's jazz talk.
Would this work on organ or harmonium? Or accordion?
If you think the 2nd part (Adagio) is the opposite of the 1st (Andante) you´ve missed a main thing: the theme of the Adagio is hidden in the structure of the Andante! AND btw: you are using not the best edition ! The Andante is ALLA BREVE! so it´s been played (far) to slow ... Andante Alla Breve means "going in halves" !
Very nice like every Video:)
Thanks Mauriz!
Ah! Thank you Sir. Finally, I understand why I always disliked the end piece.
2:57 Shouldn't it be iv 6/4? Also later you could have indicated the first inversion of some chords.
Álex the Benighted He means iv6 in the sense of iv with an added sixth, not necessarily inversion.
@@caterscarrots3407 But it can confuse due to the notation used for inversions.
@@Ivan_1791 Yes, that's why typically in my analyses I will notate an added sixth as either a 6-5 suspension if it is from the previous chord and moves down while the chord is still played or as add6 if it is simply an added sixth.
You're right, it's a Gm6 with a D in the bass, so technically it's a 6/4-chord, but I reserve that title for only dominant chords where there is a clear line for the 6/4 to resolve to 3/5. When it's for iv, it's not the obvious line. I would actually like to use the scale note number underneath the Roman numeral to denote the bass, but it's slightly problematic in this format (not room between music lines and text formatting), but I could be clearer.
It's for the same reason I didn't mention the later inversions, even though they are actually an important aspect of the harmony there. Thanks for bringing it up!
@@SonataSecrets Okay, thank you for the response.
Is that Mozart meets Robert Smith (The Cure)?
I wonder, has anyone recorded the piece and just stopped where Mozart ends? One could then imagine an ending. Maybe this is what Mozart wanted. But there is always an insistence on tacking on some classical cadence.
One of the few pieces of Monzart I really like - I'm sorry Monzart-Bro's
I love Mozarts music although I can get that a lot of it might sound the same and be a bit too jolly for some people.
@@LegoDonut18 that's the point😅
"Monzart"? were you dropped on your head as a child?
@@stevev.b.5679 Well
He's not actually very jolly at his composition but more like on the angelic side and elegance of it
There are more of us than there is of you:)
Going back to the introduction is a terrible idea. I can assure you Mozart would never have done that. Muller's idea is best and works just fine. Music in minor during the classical period was always dangerous so it was better and safer to end in major.
Mitsoku☠️☠️
Sasuga Mitsuko-sama.
Mozart, Mueller or Uchida: room for debate, but at 17:48 you should always play b minor, not D major like you do!
Oops, sorry about that! I actually thought I played a B minor but obviously not.
Damm i wish u were my teacher
You speak about andante and adagio and play them adagio and andante... :)))
Beginning sounds like something Beethoven would write with the gloominess of it. Always think of Mozart with super happy bright music lol
I'm of the opinion that Mozart is having fun w overly dramatic, "sad" Italian opera musical gestures: listen to the "pathetic" melody after the opening arpeggios, then the somewhat shlocky descending chromatic chords, w the more quick, scherzando parts expressing his thumbing his nose at the genre. For the musical aesthetics of the time I think it is a weird, funny piece.
Absolutely. With such a minor piece of his catalogue that's been recorded a million time, by all means Rewrite it. Have fun. Mozart wouldn't careless.
Did you watch the video?
@@SonataSecretsyes. Uchicha did a good service, and you to remind pianists to find the music. Not simply just follow directions. I love incomplete music from the masters. It gives us a chance to learn.
Oh sorry, I thought you meant it sarcastically! 😅
Umm. Uchida is Japanese so her name probably not pronounced like u shi da. Is u chi da
Both ending would never been in taste or Mozart.First one is too chatty without much, the second too boring. Probably shorter a slower beat with repetitive suspension like theme 1 para-para para-paaa pa pa pa pa pa paaa pa chord2 then chord1 from the first Adante theme.Fermata.
why invent an ending? just play like mozart did. Open end.