Anyone play it?....
It's a potential exam piece for me but only having come across piano versions on YouTube it is hard to get a feel for the challenges on the organ. Plus, there seems to be a lot of disparity in performance times.. under 5 minutes to over 7 minutes in some cases.
Any thoughts from those in the know would be much appreciated.. Thanks
Full Version: Mozart Andante In F Major Kv 616
Are there some spotify organ versions?
There are three things that might be contributing to the variation in length (esp on Youtube) i) acoustics ii) competence (or otherwise) iii) repeats?
There are three things that might be contributing to the variation in length (esp on Youtube) i) acoustics ii) competence (or otherwise) iii) repeats?
True, but it seems to be all competent pianists taking completely different takes on the piece. Which one is 'right', and indeed should the approach be the same on the organ?... From the score I've seen, I don't think there are any repeats but I could be wrong...
Thanks for the Spotify suggestion - I shall try that later...
Thanks for the Spotify suggestion - I shall try that later...
No, there are no repeats.
Out of the performances on YouTube the slowest I would discount, but more because of its completely anachronistic style (overladen with late Romantic goo) than because of its speed per se. Any of the others are perfectly valid, speed- and interpretation-wise (though some I warm to more than others and none meets my ideal).
In my view, style in Mozart is much more important than speed. Whether fast or slow, soft or loud, there is always an elegant grace and poise to his music and it is essential for a successful performance that this be preserved (even in dramatic, hellfire moments like the Dies irae from the Requiem). Mozart never wasted a note and in performance every note must tell. This is what makes playing him on the organ so fraught with difficulty IMO (quite apart from actually getting around the notes).
The problem with K616 is basically one of maintaining the forward movement (and the listener's interest) over quite a long piece, while still preserving a clarity in which every note tells. I think the crucial passage that will dictate the speed is the bit where you have a succession of demisemiquavers in the right hand with alternate ones oramented. I would suggest that there is no way that you can get away with playing this as fast on an organ as you could on a piano - without the piano's percussive attack it just isn't going to sound so clear.
I might add that in 40-odd years of listening and playing only once have I heard a Mozart performance on the organ where the music sounded truly Mozartian and that was a performance about 30 years ago by Noel Rawthorne of the Fantasia in F minor. I am ashamed to say that I have to include my own performances too. I know a good Mozartian interpretation when I hear one, but I seem unable to produce one that feels at all satisfactory!
(In view of which - and since I knew it at the time - how rash/stupid was I to have played K608 for my RAM audition when I was young?!)
Just some thoughts to chew over and definitely not the last word on the subject.
Out of the performances on YouTube the slowest I would discount, but more because of its completely anachronistic style (overladen with late Romantic goo) than because of its speed per se. Any of the others are perfectly valid, speed- and interpretation-wise (though some I warm to more than others and none meets my ideal).
In my view, style in Mozart is much more important than speed. Whether fast or slow, soft or loud, there is always an elegant grace and poise to his music and it is essential for a successful performance that this be preserved (even in dramatic, hellfire moments like the Dies irae from the Requiem). Mozart never wasted a note and in performance every note must tell. This is what makes playing him on the organ so fraught with difficulty IMO (quite apart from actually getting around the notes).
The problem with K616 is basically one of maintaining the forward movement (and the listener's interest) over quite a long piece, while still preserving a clarity in which every note tells. I think the crucial passage that will dictate the speed is the bit where you have a succession of demisemiquavers in the right hand with alternate ones oramented. I would suggest that there is no way that you can get away with playing this as fast on an organ as you could on a piano - without the piano's percussive attack it just isn't going to sound so clear.
I might add that in 40-odd years of listening and playing only once have I heard a Mozart performance on the organ where the music sounded truly Mozartian and that was a performance about 30 years ago by Noel Rawthorne of the Fantasia in F minor. I am ashamed to say that I have to include my own performances too. I know a good Mozartian interpretation when I hear one, but I seem unable to produce one that feels at all satisfactory!
(In view of which - and since I knew it at the time - how rash/stupid was I to have played K608 for my RAM audition when I was young?!)Just some thoughts to chew over and definitely not the last word on the subject.
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