Leopold Mozart (1719-1787)
- Sinfonia D-Dur (c.1760)
Performers: Münchener Kammerorchester; Hans Stadlmair (1929-2019, leitung)
---
German composer and pedagogue. The son of a bookbinder, Mozart received
his earliest education from the Jesuits at the St. Salvator Gymnasium
and Lyceum. While at the latter, he distinguished himself as an actor
and singer, although he also progressed as a violinist and organist. As a
polymath with many varied interests in the sciences and philosophy, he
enrolled at Salzburg University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1738.
Although he was expelled the following year for lack of attendance in
the natural sciences, he attached himself to the court of Count Johann
Baptist of Thurn-Valsassina und Taxis as a violinist and valet,
publishing his first works, a set of six church trio sonatas, as his Op.
1. In 1743 he was appointed second violinist at the court of the
Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, later
serving under his successors, Sigismund von Schrattenbach and
Heironymous Colloredo. In 1758 he was appointed as vice Kapellmeister, a
position he retained for the remainder of his life. Although the main
emphasis in studies of his life have focused on the training of his son,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, during which he was absent from his post for
long periods of time as he toured with his two children throughout
Europe, his own reputation as a teacher and composer was significant.
The most important treatise was his Versuch einer gründlichen
Violinschule of 1756, a work that was translated into many languages
during his lifetime and is still in print. Much information on his
personality can be gleaned from biographical studies of his son, but it
can be said that, although a disciplinarian, he had many interests
beyond music; he was well read, and in later life he was a kind,
generous individual, even though his relationship with his son can be
seen as problematic. As a composer, Mozart was prolific and a worthy
model for his son in the variety of works that he wrote. These include
six university plays/oratorios; seven Masses; six litanies; numerous
Psalms, Sequences, hymns, and such; 21 Lieder; 69 symphonies; four
serenades; two divertimentos; six partitas; 12 concertos; much
miscellaneous dance music; six trio sonatas; nine trios; three keyboard
sonatas; and many smaller works. Mozart’s style is in the vein of
Empfindsamkeit, although he has a descriptive flair in his music. For
example, he frequently includes local everyday life in his musical
portrayals of sleigh rides, hunts, peasant weddings, and so forth. His
daughter, Maria Anna (or Nannerl), was the recipient of a pedagogical
work, the Notenbuch, which contains practical small pieces (and a number
of very early works by her brother). Mozart’s music has been cataloged
according to LMV or Eisen numbers.
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada