Divertimiento (roughly) in the style of Mozart

I was classically trained as a pianist, and also spent a lot of time composing in the classical and early romantic style in order to learn all of that thoroughly. I was never one of those young musicians who could just sit with the sheet music and really get an understanding of how the music worked, although I could read and my technique was quite good. I had to compose something like what I was learning in order to understand how things worked on a deeper level.

That was 20 years or so back, but periodically I return to my piano-playing roots and both play through some classical music and compose and play through some new music in the style.

Beethoven is my favorite classical composer, but HIS favorite was Mozart, and I respect that! As I matured I grew to understand Mozart's importance to a pianist. Mozart will sift a pianist's technique like little else. His music is deceptively simple; it will betray any lack of precision in fingering and timing in a heartbeat. Furthermore, you cannot come to Mozart with low energy any more than you can to Beethoven. His music will also betray inattention and neglect and lack of interest quickly, even if, note-wise, it is right. If you have ever heard a leaden performance of Mozart, you know exactly what I am talking about.

The problem for me was that I have not attended to Mozart for years; there was no point today in even trying to pull out his sonatas. What I did instead was try to remember the things about Mozart's music that are fundamental: wonderful melody, classical harmony and chromaticism, translucent accompaniment (not quite transparent; Mozart's bass lines are incredibly interesting, but they flow so well with the melody that their effect is subtly powerful. One realizes what a force they are, and with what fine texture, upon study), often sprightly temperament, and BALANCE -- balance of all elements in classical music's ideal of perfection.

I'm no Mozart. That's the understatement of the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries all rolled up together. That is the kind of statement "Duh!" was invented for. However, imitation is still the highest form of flattery, and so I examined where my technique was today by making both a compositional and pianistic attempt at a little piece after the style of Mozart. It actually turned out to be quite nice as an experiment, and did what I desired to do: it showed me what I can still do technique-wise as a pianist and what I need to touch up on. Alas, a life-long use of a larger piano than Mozart had, and a sense of pianistic space informed by all my Beethoven and later, gospel and big stride jazz piano, could not be restrained -- but hey, I don't have the burden today of actually being Mozart! Duh!

Enjoy!