I enjoyed the brief passage in yesterday’s violin concerto that prompted the nickname “Turkish”. I know next to nothing about whether it in fact sounded like Turkish music or not, but I nevertheless enjoyed it. Here’s another piece that claims to owe something to Turkish influences, so let’s give it a listen.

The Recording

Apple Music

Spotify

Sheet Music

Piano Sonata no. 11 in A “Alla Turca” K. 331

1. Andante grazioso

• Nice to hear a solo piano.
• Theme and variations as first movement. The theme is simple and pleasant.
• Variation 1 is more active. Little rhythm tricks.
• Var. 2 full of triplet arpeggios. Also some funny ornaments in the left hand.
• Dreamy and exotic sounding variation 3. Unusual for Mozart.
• Gentle variations 4, 5 and 6. Almost lullaby-like.
• Things pick up with variation 7. More playful and then virtuosity to the end.

2. Menuetto

• Lots of variety in this. Interesting hearing the differences between an orchestra minuet and a piano minuet written by the same composer. This feels like there’s a lot more going on than the typical Mozart minuet.
• The trio flows.
• Interjections with the piano playing parallel octaves in forte.

3. Alla Turca – Allegretto

• Ooooooooooh yea. This movement.
• Yet another totally famous Mozart melody.
• Parallel octaves in right hand while left hand strums a chord like a guitar.
• A lot of Alberti bass still though.
• Cadences at end remind me of Entführung aus dem Serail, but I can’t recall the exact music.

Takeaways

Well, I feel silly for not realizing that this was that piece of music. Seriously, listen to the third movement if you don’t know it and maybe you’ll feel silly too. It’s another example of one of Mozart’s melodies becoming a pervasive musical thread in the background fabric of our lives. I’m starting to feel like there’s simply not another composer who occupies a similar slot in terms of the quantity of melodies that occupy this space. Maybe John Lennon and Paul McCarney. Maybe.

Unlike the piece yesterday, I feel like more of the “Turkish” ideas in the third movement were prepared in the earlier movements. The parallel octaves, for example, playing in the earlier two movements sets up the big triumphant melody in the third movement. There were moments in the first two movements that were more vague than that, but nevertheless seemed to prepare my ears for what would come later. Without doing a full analysis, I couldn’t say exactly why.

This one’s a winner though. Until next time.

I’m getting a late start on this, so I figured I’d listen to something a little shorter. “Sonata Facile” would be Italian for “easy sonata”, though when playing Mozart, the idea of “easy” is relative.

The Recording

Again, I’ll be listening to Mitsuko Uchida. I’ve been very impressed with her other recordings so far, so I’ll stick with what I know.

Apple Music Again, if you open this on your computer, it will take you to iTunes to buy the album. If you open it on your phone, it takes you to Apple Music. Weird system.

Spotify The exact same album isn’t available on both platforms, but it may well be the same recording

YouTube works, but it probably pays the artist less, so if possible, try to use one of the streaming services

Sonata 16 “Sonata Facile”

1. Allegro

• Ah, again, one of the most instantly recognizable melodies.
• It’s easy to take for granted, but the ability to write a memorable melody, one that has remained in the public’s consciousness for literally centuries, is a major skill. What composer before Mozart wrote melodies that have persisted in this way? Perhaps the “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel?
• I so appreciate Mozart’s sense of musical humor. There’s no joke here or anything like that, but there’s a sense of levity that I miss from a lot of art music. Mozart is an oasis of humor.
• “Facile”. Yea, right. Listen to the phrasing here.

2. Andante

• Alberti bass ruled in so much of Mozart’s piano music.
• I’m appreciating listening to piano music that isn’t full of giant thick walloping chords. This piece is very song-like in its own way. A simple melody and a simple accompaniment, but it’s expressive and lovely.
• One interesting technique here is the use of three voices. There’s the Alberti bass line and the melody, but occasionally there’s a simple moving line in between the two pitch range poles. There are also the occasional gentle chords, which are so light one might miss them.

3. Rondo (Allegro)

• Absent virtuosity in a finale, what to listen to? In this piece, there’s a lot of humor and charm. With Mozart, I’m always drawn into the use of dynamics and how they’re manipulated to make something simple accomplish a lot more musically.
• And it’s over. As, I said, this is a relatively short piece.

Takeaways?

I think the main takeaway about a piece like this is that a composer like Mozart and a player like Mitsuko Uchida can do a lot with relatively little. That and Mozart was a master of melodies.

Until next time.