On 12 Jan 2007 at 14:06, Daniel Wolf wrote: > David W. Fenton wrote: > >> it was suggested that Mozart's father was the real > >> composer; > > > > While Leopold was a better composer than he is often given credit > > for (most of his works that are known to the modern audience are not > > his best at all), he was no genius. He was a good craftsman, but his > > works didn't often rise beyond the competent. > > I was going to let this pass, but although the above is the common > assessment, and probably even Leopold Mozart's own assessment, he was > so prolific that, lacking a modern complete edition, it is really > impossible to say for certain that the works are not more than > competent. I have heard precious little of it, mostly novelty pieces > (the Cassation in D, the Bauernhochzeit, the Jagdsinfonie) but the > trumpet concerto is legitimately a repertoire item, and the Sacrament > Litany is quite a fine piece as is the Symphony in F.
I'm basing my assessment on a substantial study of Leopold's symphonies, including a large number of them that are not published (I was studying with the leading Leopold Mozart scholar at the time, and he provided me with his personal hand-copied scores of about two dozen works). These included symphonies from various parts of LM's life, so they weren't limited to a narrow set of works. Of course, LM also had large periods when he didn't compose at all, so far as we know. A very interesting man, and one who doesn't get sufficient credit. And I think you misread my use of the term "competent" -- I consider that a high compliment. -- David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
