Classical Notes: February 12, 2006 Archive

Enough Mozart?

Posted at 12:11 AM on February 12, 2006 by Valerie Kahler
Filed under: Musical philosophy

In response to Don's musings about Mozart...

One of my old friends heard me on the air around Mozart's birthday and sent me an email:

Do the people you work with know that you once said you don't much care for Mozart? Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Or perhaps Mozart bashing is a badge of honor among your colleagues and that's how you got where you are today -- by pretending not to like Mozart.

I'll tell all y'all what I told him.

To clarify: my anti-Mozart stance is as a cellist. I still maintain that orchestral Mozart is boring as heck to play. Kind of like the mortar in a lovely stone wall - it holds everything together but it's not compelling on its own.

His chamber music, though, is fun. I've played the same book of Mozart quartets over and over for decades and I never get tired of them.

And as for listening? Well.

There are meals that are everything I expect - pleasant, sturdy and satisfying, but not the kind of thing I'd get a fierce craving for. Then there are meals where I THINK I know what's coming and then the first mouthful just knocks me out of my seat. Like the first time I had a wally waffle from Al's Diner in Dinkytown. It was unadulterated, completely unexpected bliss.

To wit: Mozart's music is everything I expect - pleasant and satisfying, but I never get a fierce hankering for it.