Sonata in A Minor I. Allegro Maestoso, K.310 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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If there was a Mozart piece that I knew I definitely wanted to play some day, this was it.

I guess I also play Mozart once a year.

The first time I heard this piece was as a kid at a master class. I remember being interested in the haunting melody, as well as the heaviness of the chords; the intrigue was only increased when the teacher began explaining how it was written around the time of Mozart’s mother’s death. I remember even going home afterwards and sussing out the first few bars by ear.

To be clear, according to the Preface in the Henle edition of the piece, there is no definitive link between this Sonata and his mother’s death other than it being written around the same time and being in a minor key, and the reasoning they give this caution is sound, which is so as to not restrict the interpretive and emotional range of the piece from the outset.

But listening to the first movement, the pain, the anger, the deep-seated anguish, they all seem to leap off the page and reverberate from the keys. Therefore, for me, even if this interpretation is on a shaky basis, I think it’s still a worthwhile place to begin with and see where it leads.

And it leads to such an incredible place. Do I necessarily have it tied to a personal experience or one of my own stories? Perhaps not, but in a sense then the music just becomes pure catharsis and, dare I say, even a dash of empathy.

I started working on this in earnest mid-way through July, and was immediately reminded of how difficult Mozart is. Sure, at first glance everything seems manageable and straightforward, but once you start playing and taking it up to tempo, suddenly the demands of making sure that everything is pristine become overwhelming as even slight mistakes stand out in the delicate classicalism of Mozart’s writing.

The left hand chords at the beginning immediately reminded me of Mozart’s other orchestral works. Combined with the forte dynamic and the right hand melody, maestoso becomes not only the tempo marking but also a concept that exudes from the score itself, just as readily as the grief that these notes seemingly convey.

And then the runs. The runs are difficult, sure, but they have such a flow to them that they feel like a brief oasis of calm in the midst of the calamity, almost like a breeze over a meadow. Every time I get to these sections I just close my eyes and enjoy the notes flowing over and through me.

All that gets pushed to the wayside with the development with its drastic swings from fortissimo to pianissimo. It feels so Beethoven, which makes it shocking for Mozart. The anger, the rage, the aggression, they all pour forth from each fortissimo, for which I permit myself to play with just a bit of harshness. I mentioned that this piece felt like a catharsis earlier, but this section is the greatest moment of it in the movement.

Of course, in the recapitulation the runs section is this time in a minor key, and so the mood from before is recreated, except with a somber cloud. This leads perfectly into the dramatic ending, where the weight of the entire piece seems to progressively grow heavier and press down harder and harder on that final left hand run into the last chords.

I love this piece. The more I play it, the more internalized it feels, the more attuned to the movements of the notes I feel, and it begins to feel more and more ingrained in my musical memory. I simply don’t know how else to describe it, other than to say that I am extremely glad that I decided to learn this piece this summer.

What a piece to post as my 1 year anniversary piece. But hey, my once a year Mozart streak continues.

But maybe that’s symbolic of how the journey’s been for me. Before, when I first began it was lighthearted and fun; now it’s still enjoyable, but there’s a gravitas to it that can’t be ignored. I take teaching and sharing thoughts very seriously, and my audience just as much so. I greatly appreciate you guys accompanying me on my music journey and also listening to my playing, and I don’t take that lightly.

Thanks for 1 year everybody, and I hope that you continue to find music to be a joy!

Until next time,

- Watt

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