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Weekend Concert 7: Mozart in Minor Keys

2006/9/1 17:05:46

Even angels have troubled times, let alone when the angel is merely a metaphor. A person is a person -- if one is angelic merely for the sake of the angelic label, that's too un-angelic. And Mozart was not that. To regard Mozart as an innocent virgin boy untouched by the world is a grave mistake. Mozart was certainly no virgin -- even in music, he wasn't. He had all the troubles that belong to a human being. Of course, much of the time these troubles were merely shadows in the sunlight, but the sky isn't always sunny. The sky too has moments of roiling dark clouds, and Mozart's musical sky was no exception.

Minor Mozart — the "Minor" here is of course not the saccharine stuff of "hey bro, hey sis," nor is it an abbreviation for petty-bourgeois garbage sentimentality, but a musical term. Among Mozart's hundreds of instrumental works, minor keys are quite rare. He was not like Beethoven, for whom minor was the fundamental color. Beethoven's C minor mood is famous in the history of music; his last Symphony was in D minor, while Mozart's last Symphony was in the brightest C Major.

Yet Mozart also had C minor moods -- for example, his famous Fantasy in C minor, which seems to show Beethoven's silhouette in the distance. From Mozart's rare minor-key works, four are selected here: Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, String Quintet in G minor, Piano Sonata in C minor, and Symphony No. 40 in G minor. This should more or less reflect the basic landscape of Mozart's minor-key moods. Of course, even with the same key and same genre, Mozart and Beethoven have different flavors, yet equally moving depth.

Please turn off all background music. Simply press the play button on the player to enjoy!

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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg Minor40Symphony1
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg Minor40Symphony2
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartc MinorPiano Sonata1
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartc MinorPiano Sonata2
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartc MinorPiano Sonata3
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartd Minor20Piano Concerto1
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartd Minor20Piano Concerto2
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartd Minor20Piano Concerto3
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg Minor40Symphony3
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg Minor40Symphony4
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg MinorString Quintet1
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg MinorString Quintet2
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg MinorString Quintet3
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  • Weekend Concert7：Mozartg MinorString Quintet4
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