Mozart: the early years
February 7, 2016 9:14 AM Subscribe
Enjoy this animated webcomic about Mozart's early exploits... up to age nine, along with those of his sister Nannerl.
So did Nannerl just never compose any music? Or were all her efforts ignored in favor of her younger brother? I mean I suppose it's possible composition was just never her bag, and she just liked playing. But of course we'll never know.
posted by wabbittwax at 10:25 AM on February 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 10:25 AM on February 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Yes, she did compose, though most of the evidence we have is letters from her brother praising her work. We could have had two Mozart geniuses, quite possibly, but only got one because patriarchy.
The comics touch on how significant all that touring was to developing WAM's compositional ability, but truly, without that broad perspective and exposure to so many regional styles, Mozart could not have arrived at the beautiful, elegant synthesis of then-contemporary practice we now call the Viennese Classical style. I do love that they mention his contact with JC Bach, who was a proto-modernist in his world, being one of the leading edge of rebellious Classical composers, throwing off the burdensome yoke of Baroque style. That was pretty important, I think.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:13 AM on February 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
The comics touch on how significant all that touring was to developing WAM's compositional ability, but truly, without that broad perspective and exposure to so many regional styles, Mozart could not have arrived at the beautiful, elegant synthesis of then-contemporary practice we now call the Viennese Classical style. I do love that they mention his contact with JC Bach, who was a proto-modernist in his world, being one of the leading edge of rebellious Classical composers, throwing off the burdensome yoke of Baroque style. That was pretty important, I think.
posted by LooseFilter at 11:13 AM on February 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Bloody Mozart. Special needs boy." - Linda Smith.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:17 AM on February 7, 2016
posted by Paul Slade at 11:17 AM on February 7, 2016
It's sort of odd to think that we need an explanation for the otherwise unaccountable fact that someone was not quite as gifted as Mozart.
posted by Segundus at 3:25 PM on February 7, 2016
posted by Segundus at 3:25 PM on February 7, 2016
not quite as gifted as Mozart
Sort of, because while Mozart was obviously gifted, there was a ton of experience, work, and luck that produced his abilities. From birth, his crib was in the same room in which his father gave his sister music lessons, and there are ideas about how that imprinted music as a 'native language' of sorts; he probably logged 10,000 or so hours of practice/work before he was 8 or 9, which is rare in any time; and, as the comic details, he had vast exposure to musical ideas, practices, and other musical teachers that no one else in his time did.
I regularly tell my students to ignore the 'special genius' myth. Mozart produced his sublime music as a result of hard, consistent work far more than from innate gifts or genius. He only made it look easy.
posted by LooseFilter at 4:55 PM on February 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sort of, because while Mozart was obviously gifted, there was a ton of experience, work, and luck that produced his abilities. From birth, his crib was in the same room in which his father gave his sister music lessons, and there are ideas about how that imprinted music as a 'native language' of sorts; he probably logged 10,000 or so hours of practice/work before he was 8 or 9, which is rare in any time; and, as the comic details, he had vast exposure to musical ideas, practices, and other musical teachers that no one else in his time did.
I regularly tell my students to ignore the 'special genius' myth. Mozart produced his sublime music as a result of hard, consistent work far more than from innate gifts or genius. He only made it look easy.
posted by LooseFilter at 4:55 PM on February 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Nannerl Mozart composed a lot- none of her music survives. We actually do now- there's a lot of information, especially in letters. Check out this article, or the one woman show "The Other Mozart."
posted by cushie at 5:37 PM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by cushie at 5:37 PM on February 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
not quite as gifted as Mozart
Was Mozart quite as gifted as Mozart? We'll never know for sure.
posted by Too-Ticky at 6:48 AM on February 8, 2016
Was Mozart quite as gifted as Mozart? We'll never know for sure.
posted by Too-Ticky at 6:48 AM on February 8, 2016
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