String Quartet no. 14 in G major, K. 387, (“Spring”) – Mozart
“The Musical Contest“ (c.1754 – 1755)
____________
right about this time, 1782 to 1785, Mozart
was writing his Haydn Quartets, six of
them, in the very fashion, not incidentally,
of Haydn, as a tribute to the master, the
father, the very originator of the string
quartet
here’s the first of them, a not at all
unimpressive tribute
Mozart follows the master in kind, the
number of movements, the selection
of tempi, there’s even again a minuet,
an aristocratic prerequisite, note even
the delicate, the deferential, endings,
to all, not just one, of the movements,
a trait indicative of Haydn, his courtly,
courteous reserve before any too
personalized spotlight, however
manifest his brilliance – noblesse,
in other words, oblige
Mozart follows immaculate suit
you might find it difficult to distinguish
between Mozart and Haydn, I do, the
differences are so subtle as to be
nearly, for the most part,
indistinguishable, their periods overlap,
their contexts were not at all dissimilar,
just even Vienna as their musical core
the aristocracy was still, evidently, in
charge, however henceforth briefly,
and paying the bills, and the mood
required remained respectful, polite,
unpolitical, which both composers
dutifully obliged, neither subjecting
himself to any constraints around
his higher manifest destiny, his
irresistible muse, the pursuit of
pure, and unadulterated, music
this will unfurl, see, for instance,
Shostakovich
R ! chard
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