Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time

Leopold Mozart’s Treatise on Violin Playing
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Wolfgang’s father, Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), gained an international reputation through the publication of his Gründliche Violinschule, first published in 1756, the year of Wolfgang’s birth. His book sheds light on some of the conventions and issues of taste largely absent from scores but well known to experienced musicians of the time. One important topic Mozart discusses is the proper application and execution of piano and forte. These dynamics function on two levels: as volume indicators for whole sections of a piece and as temporary, local accentuation and tone coloring. Mozart stipulates: "One must know how to change from piano to forte without directions and of one’s own accord, each at the right time."

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Leopold Mozart. Gründliche Violinschule mit vier Kupfertafeln und einer Tabelle. Augsburg: J.J. Lotter und Sohn, 1800.
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Introduction
From Sketch to Completed Work
From Print to CD
How did Mozart Compose?
The Mozart Myth: Tales of a Forgery
Mozart's Images
Mozart's Images Imagined
What the Score Doesn't Tell Us
The Piano Lesson
The Cult of Mozart
Commodification & Kitsch
Credits
Cornell University Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Cornell University Library

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