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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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dentstudent
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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21/06/2007 13:29:35 »
I often have a discussion with my mother-in-law about "the state of music today". She is very much of the old school, in that the only music with any longevity is classical music written by people such as Mozart. "It's 200 years old and still being listened to". After I've pointed out her oversight about longevity, and that it's not possible for modern things to be 200 years old and therfore prove their longevity, i tell her that I think that if Mozart were alive today, well firstly he wouldn't be, because he would have killed himself in some crazy rock'n'roll drugs binge, but secondly, that he would have been writing music that would without shadow of a doubt NOT be classical. He would definately have been Jimi Hendrix. In fact, I think he was.
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Last Edit: 21/06/2007 13:31:30 by dentstudent
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DoctorBeaver
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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Reply #1 on:
21/06/2007 14:42:13 »
Why would he not be writing classical music? Anyway, how would you define classical music?
Much classical music these days is written for film scores (take John Williams for example). The album of the score from Gladiator was in the classical album chart for about a zillion weeks.
Then you have artistes such as Jean Michelle Jarre or, closer to home, Rick Wakeman. Would you not class their compositions as classical?
Or take Karl Jenkins. Formerly a member of Soft Machine, he turned his hand to classical music and has become almost a household name.
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dentstudent
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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21/06/2007 15:07:01 »
Quote from: DoctorBeaver on 21/06/2007 14:42:13
Why would he not be writing classical music?
I think that, through the absence of electricity and the development of some instruments, the options available at that time were rather more limited than they are today. There was no Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Ragga, Ska, Rock,.......(What were the choices available - I have no idea). Also I picture the environment he was in to have been one that was very much in the forefront of daily life, loved by the people and generally respected, certainly held in high regard for his ability, if not his character. His early training, somewhat focussed by his father, pehaps implies that his modern counterpart would be initially classical, but I think that he would have been very much the experimentalist, and gone into the wider realms that are now available. So, perhaps he'd be a pseudo Rick Wakeman instead? I don't know. I just feel that this prodigious talent wouldn't have remained in the "classical" sphere. By this "classical" I mean that he wouldn't have written the same style of music - it would be more contemporary. This combination of popularity combined with his own destructive character smacks more of rock'n'roll than "traditional" classical music. That's all - Just my thoughts.....
I personally wouldn't class JMJ as classical - perhaps I'm wrong. But then, I think that there are many people who wouldn't class the music that those girls in bikinis and violins play as classical. Or Apocalyptica, for example? Metallica on the cello. Were SKY classical? Classically trained, absolutely! But as a musical genre - I don't think so.
Without question Doc, you have the musical upper-hand and knowledge - but what do you think he'd be doing?
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Last Edit: 21/06/2007 15:12:45 by dentstudent
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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Reply #3 on:
21/06/2007 15:45:34 »
I think you're right that he'd be experimenting; but maybe not to the extent of a modern-day Franz Liszt. I definitely think he'd be fascinated by synthesisers. Mozart's genius would find expression in the range of sounds available that would possibly give it an extra dimension.
However, I still think his compositions would be "tuneful & melodic" as opposed to abstract, as in the likes of Schonberg or Bartok.
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another_someone
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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Reply #4 on:
21/06/2007 21:24:11 »
Mozart was first and foremost a professional, writing for a market.
I would have thought the market that he would understand as closest to what he was used to would be the film industry (where a lot of modern 'classical' composers have found a comfortable environment).
One thing one has to bear in mind is that much of what Mozart did in his life would be illegal today. Mozart was on tour from about the age of 6, and would have had no time for modern schooling. Arguably he could be classed as child labour (although the law seems to turn a blind eye to child labour in the entertainment industry, while it frowns upon it in most other industries). Then again, if Mozart had not been working from his early childhood, he would not have been so prolific in the 36 years of life that he lived.
I may misremember, but I vaguely recollect that Mozart was not actually held in as high esteem as he is today in the early part of the 20th century, and really gained his modern reputation only in the years after WWII.
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jolly
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What would Mozart be playing if he were alive today?
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Reply #5 on:
22/06/2007 23:14:14 »
I think its quite clear- DEATH METAL!
ODE TO PAIN....Lol
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Last Edit: 22/06/2007 23:16:05 by jolly
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