Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
BBC documentary - The Great Composers: Mozart (1 hour)
BBC documentary - The Genius of Mozart (3 hours)
Course Description
While best known as a composer of great operas and symphonies, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart also made vital contributions to the piano's rise from obscurity to great popularity in
the Classical era of the late 18th century. His sparkling piano sonatas and chamber works
delighted the aristocracy and he enthralled the general public with his passionate piano
concertos that combined the piano with his sublime orchestral composing. Mozart's public
concerts provided the growing middle class some of their earliest access to profound instru-
mental music and made him one of the first successful freelance composers at a time when
most composers were essentially servants of the aristocracy. His piano works contain
many of his most memorable melodies.
In this course participants will learn about...
The many different types and styles of Mozart's piano works.
Mozart's personal life and his composing career.
The forms of instrumental music in the Classical era and some basic music theory.
The social and intellectual culture of 1780s Vienna.
Mozart's influence on other composers of piano music.
Many renowned classical pianists by watching them perform Mozart's music.
Course Syllabus
Week 1 - The Classical Era & Mozart's Piano Sonatas
Course Introduction, Classicism & Romanticism, Instrumental Genres
& Forms in the Classical Era, Mozart's Piano Sonatas
Week 2 - Proto-romanticism & Music for Two Pianos
Mozart's Youth, The Sturm und Drang Movement, Mozart's Minor Key
Sonatas & Fantasias, Music for Two Pianos & Four-Hand Piano
Week 3 - Mozart's Chamber Music with Piano
Mozart's Early Adulthood, and his Violin Sonatas, Piano Trios, Piano
Quartets, & the Quintet for Piano and Winds
Week 4 - Mozart's Piano Concertos
Mozart's Vienna Years and his Piano Concertos
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