Mozart, W.A.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 ~ 1791)
Austrian composer, a representative of Vienna classical music school. Born in Salzburg on January 27th, 1756, he died in Vienna on December 5th, 1791.
Mozart was born in the family of a court musician. He began to show his musical talent at the age of 3, studied piano with his father at the age of 4, composed music at the age of 5, studied violin with his father at the age of 6, wrote a number of sonatas and symphonies at the age of 8, and wrote his first opera at the age of 11. He lived only 36 years old. Heavy creation, performance and poor life damaged his health and made him die prematurely, and his music works became the precious heritage of the world music treasure house.
As a teenager (1762 ~ 1773), in 1762, 6-year-old Mozart, led by his father, made an experimental tour to Munich, Vienna and Pressburg, which was successful. From June 1763 to March 1773, they successively went to Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and other countries for a 1-year tour performance, all of which were successful. These traveling performances have had a positive impact on Mozart's artistic development. He had the opportunity to get in touch with the most advanced music art in Europe-Italian opera, French opera and German instrumental music. He also got to know the composers J.C. Bach, G.B. Martini, G.B. Samartini, etc., and learned composition techniques from them, which enabled him to become a composer with the most extensive creative style in his time. On the one hand, the young Mozart influenced the fashion etiquette and gorgeous artistic style of the aristocratic upper class in his travel performances, on the other hand, because of his low status as a citizen musician, he also developed a lofty and arrogant character and despised the dignitaries. And the heavy performance task with commercial nature destroyed his health.
During this period, Mozart published six sonatas of Harper Secord and violin (or flute) in London, and wrote three symphonies and operas, False Goodwill (1768), Bastian and Bastina (1768), Mitridat, King of Bendu (177) and Luzio Sila (1772). Some works reflect his influence by J.C. Bach. The works of this period have shown the universality of Mozart's creative genre and his interest in opera creation.
In the mature period (1774 ~ 1781), Mozart returned to Salzburg at the end of 1773. Under the guidance of his father, he made up for the interrupted study of music and culture. At the same time, he created a large number of works by using the knowledge and materials gained during his travels. Including the operas The Fake Gardener (1775) and The Shepherd King (1775).
Mozart, now an adult, was dissatisfied with his humble slave status. In order to strive for personal and creative freedom, after fierce struggle, he finally got the consent of the archbishop in September 1777, and then traveled with his mother for two years. In order to find another job and leave Salzburg forever, he taught and performed in Munich and Mannheim, which further deepened his understanding and experience of the unequal system. When he was in Mannheim, he got the help and sympathy of some citizen musicians, and got in touch with the important Mannheim music school in Europe at that time, and heard the performance of the first-class orchestra. In May 1778, he returned to Paris. Due to the death of his mother and his failure to find a job, he had to return to Salzburg in January 1779.
During this period, Mozart composed two flute concertos, one oboe concerto, seven piano and violin sonatas and three piano sonatas in Mannheim, which reflected the influence of Mannheim school. In Paris, he also wrote the Paris symphony, symphonic concerto, orchestral overture, concerto for flute and harp, flute and string quartet, four piano variations and four piano sonatas. When I passed through Mannheim for the second time, I wrote three symphonies of religious music, symphonic concertos for violin and viola, serenades, divertimento, concertos for two pianos and concertos for three organs. In 178, he completed the creation of the opera Idomeno.
Mozart's works in this period reflected the influence of the ideological trend of the raging movement at that time in content, and new elements appeared in form, such as the presentation part of the first movement of the poison-playing musical form, and the second (or more) theme appeared in the reproduction part, which often changed the order in which the themes appeared, and sometimes the theme materials were treated differently from the presentation part. Between the first and second movements, there was a strong feeling. These techniques have enhanced the drama of his music works and further formed the classical sonata form.
during the Vienna period (1781 ~ 1791), Mozart could no longer bear the humiliation of the archbishop, and resolutely resigned from the archbishop to make a living in Vienna. He is the first composer in Austrian history who has the courage and determination to get rid of the court and church and safeguard personal dignity. However, although he was a freelance composer in name, he was still unable to resist the oppression of feudal society. The hardships of life had a profound impact on his thoughts and creation, and his 1 years in Vienna became the most important 1 years in his creation. In 1781, after he broke with the archbishop, he wrote the famous opera "Harem Temptation". The play premiered in July 1782 and was a great success. In 1782, he married Constance Weber, the daughter of a Mannheim musician, without his father's consent. Mozart forged a deep friendship with J Haydn who was in Vienna at that time. He learned from Haydn the experience of composing quartets and symphonies, and wrote six string quartets for Haydn. In 1784, he joined the "* * * Economic Association" and was a member of the eighth branch in Vienna. He enthusiastically participated in the activities of this secret religious group with the color of bourgeois enlightenment, and was strongly impressed by its ideas of freedom, equality and fraternity, and wrote many works under the inspiration of this thought.
In p>1785, the once closed Vienna National Theatre was restored, and Mozart had the opportunity to engage in opera creation. He wrote a farce, The Theater Manager (performed in 1786). In 1786, The Marriage of Figaro was completed and staged, which had a great influence and even became a household name in Prague. In 1787, Don Juan was completed and performed.
in Vienna, Mozart discovered the works of J.S. Bach. He deeply studied and studied Bach's polyphonic techniques. This played an important role in his later creation.
in April, 1789, Mozart, who was in poverty, led by his student, Duke Carl Leipzig, went to perform in Dresden, Berlin and Leipzig. Although it was a sensation, it failed to extricate him from his economic difficulties. In January 179, his opera "Woman's Heart" was staged. In February, when the emperor died, Mozart asked Leopold II, the successor of the emperor, to take over the position of L. Hoffman, the court musician, and was granted, but it was not realized. In 1791, he wrote the opera Tito's Kindness, which was unsuccessful. In September of the same year, he wrote the last opera "Magic Flute" and wrote a large-scale religious music work "Remembrance Song" when he was seriously ill. He died without finishing it all. After his death, he was buried in an unknown place in the Vienna poor cemetery.
During his short life as a composer, Mozart wrote a large number of musical works, which involved various fields and left many immortal masterpieces.
Opera Mozart's main creative field is opera. In his 36 years of life, he has been engaged in opera creation for 25 years, and has written more than 2 operas. Among them, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Juan and The Magic Flute are the most representative.
The Marriage of Figaro is based on the drama of P.A.C.de Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, which was banned in Austria at that time. The opera script was adapted by the Italian poet L da Ponte and premiered in 1786. Although the adapted script weakened the original drama's attack on feudal society and added lyrical description, it still kept the original critical spirit, exposed and satirized the hypocrisy and extravagant life of the feudal aristocrats represented by the count, praised the integrity, wit and courage of the "third class" people represented by Figaro and Susanna, and showed the optimistic spirit of winning the struggle against feudalism. The main contribution of Mozart's opera is that it does not follow the comic exaggeration and juggling style of the popular Italian interesting opera at that time, but focuses on depicting the characters' personalities, making psychological characterization, enhancing the lyricism of the opera, and exerting the skills and expressive force of duet in the play.
The script of Don Juan was also adapted by Da Ponte. Premiered in 1787. It is based on a famous Spanish folklore. At that time, various versions of the legend were widely circulated in European countries, and there were already drama, opera, ballet and other artistic forms. Mozart and da Ponte chose G. Beltas's opera script The Story of the Stone (composed by Italian composer G. gazzaniga), which made great changes in plot and characters. Through the contradictory character of Don Juan, an aristocrat, and his despicable end of cheating and harming women's behavior, the rotten life of feudal aristocrats was exposed, and at the same time, the master's contempt for feudal ethics and the pursuit of happiness was affirmed. This is an opera with ethical significance, which reflects the interest and concern of German and Austrian intellectuals on ethical issues since the end of the 18th century. It is an important work of Mozart to develop opera-like drama on the basis of Italian interesting opera. When dealing with the music of this opera, Mozart strengthened the psychological description of the characters, making the images of the characters more complex and real, and at the same time, using dramatic duets to enhance the contradictions and conflicts of the opera.
The Magic Flute is the last opera written and performed by Mozart a few months before his death in 1791. Its script was proposed and written by Mozart's old friend E. Hikaned, a small theater manager who was enthusiastic about German national opera. The opera is based on Vilander's myth Lulu. Through the story of the hero's hard struggle for his ideal and his final victory, he praised the idea that light will surely overcome darkness. The ideas reflected in this opera are closely related to Mozart's pursuit of enlightenment and his ideal of freedom, equality and love for the "economic society". Several of the main characters may be metaphors of the characters in the social reality at that time. For example, Salaste Rowe, the high priest, is reminiscent of Bonn, the head of the * * * aid society and Mozart's friend who died not long ago. Mozart adopted a typical Protestant chorus-style music shaping, which made his music solemn and sublime. After the night, the villain may be Maria Tracy (who suppressed the * * * Economic Association during her reign). This role needs to be played by a highly skilled coloratura soprano, whose music performance is difficult and has no inner feelings. The hero of the play, Prince Tamino, may be Joseph II who sympathizes with the * * * Economic Association. His music is beautiful and moving, and he uses lyric arias in the official opera. Pamina is a symbol of the noble spirit of the people. This opera is Mozart's masterpiece of developing German national fairy tale opera on the basis of German and Austrian singing operas and divine dramas. It marks the end of the development of German-Austrian operetta in the 18th century, and lays the foundation for the later generation of German romantic opera, becoming the pioneer of the latter.
Symphony Mozart I * * * wrote about 5 symphonies, 41 of which are numbered, and can be divided into several groups like other instrumental works. Most of the symphonies were written under the influence of different musical styles in the early years, so they have traces of imitating different styles. Among them, we can see the influences of J.C. Bach, G.C. Wagenseil M.G. Mohn, especially Haydn and Mannheim School represented by J. Stamitz.
Mozart has seven most representative symphonies. Among them, the Thirty-first Symphony (Paris) was written for the Paris Symphony Orchestra, one of the most outstanding symphony orchestras in Europe at that time. It has the musical style of Paris and rich acoustics. The Thirty-fifth Symphony (hafner) is actually a serenade, and the Thirty-eighth Symphony (Prague) is often called "Symphony without minuets". It has only three movements, which is no longer a pair.
Mozart's last three symphonies in E flat major, G minor and C major are his best symphonies. They were all written within six weeks from June to August, 1788. People usually classify them as a group, but each of them has its own characteristics: Symphony No.39 in E-flat major is bright, cheerful and full of poetry; The Fortieth Symphony in G minor is full of drama and Haydn's optimism, but it is completely different from Haydn in technique and is called Mozart's "Hero" symphony. Symphony No.41 in C major (usually called Jupiter) is magnificent and optimistic, which indicates the emergence of L.van Beethoven's heroic symphony.
Mozart's symphonies (especially the last three) are the highest achievements of all the symphonies before Beethoven. His outstanding contribution lies in attaching importance to the contrast between movements and themes in movements.
concerto is one of the most outstanding genres in Mozart's music creation besides opera. He wrote more than 5 concertos of various solo instruments and bands in his life. On the basis of Baroque Concerto, these works established the structural principles of the 18th century classical concerto: the divertimento structure of three movements (the first movement is sonata style, the second movement is lyric movement similar to aria style, and the third movement has dancing or popular character); Double presentation part, solo instrument, skillful cadenza, etc. At the same time, it strengthens the position of solo instrument and emphasizes its musical character different from that of concerto band. Due to these achievements of Mozart, concerto is no longer a one-sided expression of skills, but has the same profound significance as symphony. Mozart became the founder of modern concerto form.
among Mozart's concertos, piano concerto occupies a prominent position. * * * wrote 27 films, among which the representative works are D minor, C minor, A major and so on. In addition, there are seven violin concertos, among which three in G major, A major and D major are outstanding. In the aspect of wind concerto, Clarinet Concerto in A Major is also outstanding. Others are four horn concertos and one concerto for flute and harp.
sonata suite Mozart wrote 17 piano sonatas, 6 violin sonatas and 35 piano violin sonatas, which contributed to the development of classical sonata suite and established the sonata suite form of three movements of Vienna classical music school. In piano sonata, he completed the transition from Harper Secord style to piano style. In his piano sonatas in 198s, the piano effect and range have been brought into play, such as Piano Sonata in A Major (1783) and Piano Sonata in C Minor (1785). The former embodies the characteristics of his life customs, while the latter shows sharp contrast and juxtaposition and dramatic power, which indicates the birth of Beethoven's piano sonata. Mozart's Piano and Violin Sonata