Regarding the discussion in the "Haydn at Mozart's Death" thread, where we got so off topic;
I was just reading "The Compleat Mozart" by Neal Zaslaw (why doesn't someone write the equivalent on B? Must I do everything myself?;-)) and in the introduction to the section on M's symphonies, Zaslaw makes the point that "many people believe that the development of M's symphonies from first to last marks the development of Mozart as a composer from beginning to end. This is far from the truth, actually it marks the development of the SYMPHONY in that time period, from its beginnings as an overture and occasional entertainment to a concert mainstay". This is precisely the point that I was trying to make in the other thread, that one cannot compare works from different times because they are written for entirely different reasons and with an entirely different frame of reference. One must compare contemporaries who are writing for the same reasons and audience. What other points of view exist out there, I think this is an interesting discussion point for those of us who, intentionally or by default, are historians, after all.
Regards,
Gurn
I was just reading "The Compleat Mozart" by Neal Zaslaw (why doesn't someone write the equivalent on B? Must I do everything myself?;-)) and in the introduction to the section on M's symphonies, Zaslaw makes the point that "many people believe that the development of M's symphonies from first to last marks the development of Mozart as a composer from beginning to end. This is far from the truth, actually it marks the development of the SYMPHONY in that time period, from its beginnings as an overture and occasional entertainment to a concert mainstay". This is precisely the point that I was trying to make in the other thread, that one cannot compare works from different times because they are written for entirely different reasons and with an entirely different frame of reference. One must compare contemporaries who are writing for the same reasons and audience. What other points of view exist out there, I think this is an interesting discussion point for those of us who, intentionally or by default, are historians, after all.
Regards,
Gurn
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