I am exploring these dimensions in learning Mozart Sonata in C K. 545
I should be posting Part 3 later today or tomorrow.
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/...ata-in-c-k-545/

Where did the term "drawing room Sonata" come from? Is this something relatively new or a regional usage? I've always known it as the easy sonata (sonata facile).

This would be most helpful in the Adult Beginner forum. You don't explain resolving at all - I think they'll need that info.

It's an interesting approach. Considering that Mozart was very much a vocalist (arguably, he viewed opera as the ultimate form of musical expression), I often have my students put words to the music, then sing them, to gain an understanding of phrasing and inflection. For example, "Now is the time to go home; we're having dinner soon." Of course, this is a very linear approach which ignores the underlying harmonic structure.

Yes, I like the alliance of the voice to Mozart's instrumental composition. Your ideas sound fascinating.. words to music.
As far as the other response in this thread, I don't regard the C Major sonata as a beginner's piece.. and have never made that association. I think it belongs in the universe of great repertoire. Anything composed by Mozart, is in my opinion, a challenge. I love him to death.
Resolve is of course a term that can be widely interpreted. Most people think of a phrase coming to resolution, when as musicians we know various chords have resolutions to others.
Gee, it's hard to cover everything. I still have to complete the sequence and cover the Development and Recap..

Thanks for all your comments. Shirley K
http://arioso7.wordpress.com
I will look into the Drawing Room tag..

Shirley, I don't think the name "Sonata Facile" implies that it's a beginner's piece, just more reachable and less complex than the typical sonata. Like most everything Mozart wrote, playing it well takes real mastery. Generally, I don't even consider it for a student before they reach the end of intermediate literature, that is, they are ready to study early advanced lit.

I stopped teaching that piece. It's been played to death, literally and figuratively. And almost always it's played poorly by kids who either don't have the required technical command or don't understand the music.

I'd say the piece is about the same difficulty as some Op. 20 sonatinas by Kuhlau.

Hi, I was referring to the recommendation in this thread that the discussion belonged in the adult beginner's forum.I have found that among my students who studied the entire K545 that it has imposed significant challenges even where these individuals, adults and teens were of an advanced level. Trills and ornaments.. difficult to play. Singing tone line hard to sustain. Shaping of phrases, a lion's share of work. When I first encountered my beloved teacher.. first lesson in NYC she handed me K.311 as the vehicle to cultivate a singing tone, and smooth, legato passage work.

http://arioso7.wordpress.com

Interesting response. I love the piece though you are right that it is played so often, and I guess not always in a finessed way.. but right now one of my adult students is crazy about the transition on p. 2 with the lovely harmonic scheme like a harp. She keeps getting drawn back to it. Movement two is gorgeous, and three I also delight in. My ten year old student who did a technique video, is deep into movement two. She had studied a few Clementi sonatinas, and the Beethoven F Major Sonatina, not often played as well as Bach Inventions before I assigned her K. 545. We are having a good time sharing back and forth.

http://arioso7.wordpress.com

I'm working on that Drawing Room tag.. but have a fellow coming over named York, who is the main (piana tuna') character in my manuscript Dream Piano. We are going to do a video with him, tying in a song he stumbled upon in post WWII Japan..very moving story, already out there on the Internet but needs to come alive on video.

I love the 2nd mvt. It proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that Mozart was a deep Romantic soul.

The Rondo, which I don't teach very often, reminds me of the Bavarian/Tyrolean wood chopping and sawing (slapping) dances (which they still do in areas around Salzburg. Mozart would certainly have known these folk dances. At one time, I had come up with a set of lyrics to help students with that mvt. It began, "Chop, chop wood, chop, chop wood......" but I don't recall exactly what came after. Something on the order of, "Grab the axe and let us chop, chop wood."

Not much to add, just that I enjoyed the video very much. Always nice to see how others teach. Well done!

This is really excellent! I took an analysis course but wasn't taught how to apply it to interpretations. Your students are really taught the theory of why things are played a certain way.

Thanks Kreisler, and Frozen Icicles for your nice comments which were very appreciated.

Shirley K

Shirley, are these videos created for students who have a certain background for following what you are teaching - for example your own students (you'll know what they learned)? I am an adult student and also former teacher. I'm studying music theory so I was able to follow what you were presenting - I just happen to be at this point in my studies, and was looking at harmonic rhythm last night. Really cool to see it in your video the next day. I wondered at your use of "one chord / five chord" while later you referred to the "dominant" (dominant of dominant) and at that point thought you might use different terms at different times with your students. That fueled the first question. Thank you for sharing.

Yes, that second movement is to die for beautiful. As a youngster there were certain measures I would play over and over.. starting of course in the parallel g minor section.. but measures 45-48 did it for me.. A musical/dramatic high point with the diminished chord lead in..

Why Symphony no. 40 suddenly comes to mind gives testimony to the drama, pathos, and all.... I could listen to Mozart's music for the rest of my life and feel satisfied.

http://arioso7.wordpress.com

Thanks for your questions and interest in this aspect of learning and teaching. By the way I just finished part 3, with exploration of the Development section but won't be able to post until later this evening PST. My daughter is tech savvy and loads these for me. She has taken a well deserved break for a few hours.

Ideally, the student who can digest this kind of analysis where I refer to functionality of chords and their resolutions, has had a significant theoretical/ harmonic background, and in truth I have only a few who can communicate at this level..let alone understand. They have been studying with me for at least 3 or so years, and have gone around the Circle of Fifths as pertains to scales and arpeggios, and from there we have built chords on each scale degree, Major and minor keys, and explored relationships, such as dominant/tonic dominant to sub mediant.. deceptive cadence.. Dominant to mediant. We have resolved these chords in different keys, understanding concepts of harmonic rhythm, with significant ear training experiences. The process feeds upon itself, especially as we journey through repertoire in the Baroque and Classical period. As you know the Romantic composers took more harmonic liberties but if one has a good foundation in Baroque and Classical harmonic vocabulary, then the departures in later historical periods make more sense. Having said this, I recall Leonard Bernstein in his Young People's concerts in the 60s and perhaps before this time disseminating quite a bit of sophisticated harmonic information in such a way that the average listener could understand at some common level what he was saying..so maybe I am hoping in the midst of all the theoretical labeling, that what comes through is an ear engaging experience.

I do teach secondary dominants as students move along in their theory studies. If you have a motivated pupil, even at a tender age he/she will eat this up. Dominant of dominant certainly can be demonstrated, if the teacher takes the time, but again, a theoretical foundation has to be in place, with layer upon layered learning..or else these more advanced concepts are not digestible.
http://arioso7.wordpress.com

Some of my students do enjoy the videos, especially if they are studying the composition I am exploring. It is a kind of motivator for me to clarify, refine ideas, and learn from the students, in fact.

Thanks Shirley,
It's a good reminder for me to look at all the harmonies for my pieces again.

Thanks for commenting, Candywoman.. I'm expectantly waiting to post Part 3.. It's got about 25 minutes or less to go. This segment covers Development and Recap. I always keep my fingers crossed that processing will go smoothly.. You just never know on You Tube..

http://arioso7.wordpress.com

Here's what I found out about the tag, "Drawing Room Sonata,"
* (1930) "In an Eighteenth-Century Drawing Room" by Raymond Scott - based on Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 545

This movie gave the sonata it's association.

Shirley K

http://arioso7.wordpress.com
part 3.. Development and Recap.

Shirley, I looked it up and got a bit of a surprise. You might too:
"Drawing Room" - recording

My reason for looking up the movie was roughly this:
I've done some music history by now, and know that classical music was mostly confined to drawing rooms originally, but after the social structure got changed, the support for artists by church and aristocracy weakened and the arts went more to the masses. I was curious if Mozart still wrote "drawing room music", which way sonatas of that period were geared etc. Why was a movie made with that title?

I was also curious how classical music would be presented. In Amadeus they kept the tension going by giving an emotional spin to Salieri, and in Red Violin there is an emotional twist. So what angle might this be taking?

Apparently Scott was inspired by a poem:

Found an old musty book,
long lost
In some far forgotten nook.
In the book a faded picture,
And the scent of old perfume.
Two old fashioned lovers
In an eighteenth century drawing room.
Nothing is ever new,
Ever since love began.
See her two eyes of blue,
Flirting behind her fan.
Look at his silk and lace,
Isn't he debonaire?
And the smile on his face
Tells of the love they share.
Hear their hearts softly beat
One moment more
And their lips will meet.
Love in glory, love in bloom,
Don't you wish that we were
In an eighteenth century drawing room?

(Btw, in a lot of performances of Scot's version the bass line really stands out, as if someone took a highlighter to it.)

Wow! Great following the trail research..Now we all must see the movie.

Shirley, thank you also for your answer to my question before. All in all, your videos and your site are a treasure trove. Btw, I see your 3rd video is up, and the 2nd is also more complete after watching the 1st (which sort of makes sense).

Thanks for your comments. I just happened to post another piano finding adventure.. This fellow York, the 83 year old piano tuner, is a blast. He was over here yesterday and brought the gigantic tweezers he used to extract mice from upright pianos. I took a bunch of pics and will add them. Every story in these adventures is TRUE to the last detail. I find myself laughing hysterically when I read them back. We took an hour footage of him yesterday and have to sift through the raw stuff and do some decent editing.

Shirley K
http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/samick-york-tofujie-and-me-on-the-piano-chasing-trail/

Pics on their way later today.

Saw the pics. More on Raymond Scot who came into the picture because of the Drawing Room Sonata name. He was both a composer and inventor. He had an influence on the direction that at least some 20th century music took. His innovations were both on the side of composing, and in devices that he invented that were like a combination electronic instrument and "music composing device". His music found its way into the media as background music to cartoons, but also as actual music, and other composers and musicians were influenced by him. I have a feeling that his Drawing Room Sonata is not a movie, but a composition.

I'm wondering whether comparing Scott's composition and the original work by Mozart would be an interesting thing to do. Would it be a useful exercise for anyone?

In PianoWorld there is sometimes a split between "classical" and "non-classical" musicians and teachers, with the latter saying there is no creativity in the classical world. What about this takeoff of Mozart's sonata? Does it have elements of both worlds?

I, too, couldn't find any mention of a movie by the name, "Drawing Room Sonata" but only a composition, which makes use of the K545 theme.

On the subject of names - I try to teach my students to learn both composers name, and how to identify the works they study. Most students only look at the notes on the score - they bypass almost everything else on the printed page. Why is this? Student musicians ought to be able to correctly identify the works they perform, such as this sonata as Mozart, K545. Surprisingly, when printing programs for our group recitals, I find that many teachers cannot properly identify the pieces their students are playing, and that's a bit scary.

There are said to be many ways to skin a cat ... not that I can see the slightest provocation to ever wanting to skin a cat ... it could have been one of Huck Finn’s methods to ward off evil spirits ... or was that Jim?

But using the analogy to set the scene for commenting on the Shirley Kirsten video
(Mozart Sonata K545) ... my initial reaction was in support of Kreisler’s “anything is better than nothing” comment ... but on further steaming up of the old grey matter ... I find myself discomforted by the gobbledegook chat which accompanies the highly educated lady’s coaxing of the ivories ... enough to scare the small fry instead of enchanting the motley (like a Pied Piper of Hamelin),

Words like

defective cadence, dominant of G Major (when the key is C), modulation in the dominant key, melodic form, secondary dominant (even the “dominant of the dominant” to take the cake), neighbour chord, arpeggios in the LH (only at m11)

represent highfaluting jargon which should be avoided at all costs in doing the Piper thing.

Here is the first page of the Mozart K545 ... in my corner sight-reading is key to steady progress ... watching the hands is a no-no ... the watchword is keep eyes on the score.

But where (SK) is an analysis of the structure of the music ... the Sonata is neatly split into 4 measure groupings ... my school learns as to how Mozart came across the symmetrical peaks to m5-8 ... and by spreading the opening 16th note before starting the 32nd note Major scale ... a sequence of reducing mountains was formed (each lower by one scalar note)... pretty neat!!

Forgive the tenor of this bleat ... Happy New Year everybody.

Just had a quick look. I found only one comment by Kreiser, which in full reads:

Just to jolly things into the New Year ... BTW I'm presently listening to Elmer Bernstein's music to The Magnificent Seven ...
Eli Wallach to face the wiles of Yul Brunner and Steve McQueen.

Most people are unaware that keyboard notation has been screwed up by a stave for only 7 white notes ... using sharps and flats to squeeze in the “poor cousin” black notes ... the result is a visually inaccurate pitch scale ... but to make matters worse, we battle with an irregular spread of measures ... dependent on the note-count to each measure .


And to think that all our movements on Mother Earth ... relies on our eyes providing us with an accurate picture of our location ... why should keyboard music give us such a bum steer?

Here’s a graphic of the Mozart Sonata K545 ... which accurately depicts the pitch and duration of notes ... making it visually easy to capture the shape of music ... just look at those
symmetrical mountains to measures 5-8 ... by doubling the spread of the first note, the remaining 14 notes (32nd notes) automatically induce a descending mount sequence.

Also, there is a clear separation of the two hand roles ... treble and bass ... much more can be interpreted from the graphic ... but note that the measures are identical in width, the grand stave provides equal space for all 12 basic keyboard notes ... and in the classical tradition Mozart splits up the work into neat 4 measure divisions ... the graphic image flows unbroken.