When Mozart invented the WHOLE TONE SCALE 100 years early!

This cadenza comes from a piece Mozart composed in 1787, the same year as his opera Don Giovanni. He was 31 years old, and at the height of his compositional powers. But The Musical Joke is a really odd piece, made entirely out of musical material that sounds deliberately banal. It was as if Mozart, who normally composed music of extraordinary grace, sophistication and emotional power, felt compelled to attempt to write a bad piece! Some people think that he was satirising his less talented colleagues by using the raw clichés of the Style Gallant. The score also contains a number of strikingly modern-sounding effects that weren’t used again in the Western Classical tradition until the Twentieth Century, such as polytonality and the whole tone scale.

MUSICAL EXCERPTS USED IN THIS VIDEO

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Ein Musikalischer Spaß (A Musical Joke) K522 (1787)
Movement III. Adagio Cantabile
Movement IV. Finale. Presto
Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra
Sandor Frigyes, conductor

links -

#music #mozart #debussy #comedy #violin

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Produced and directed by Ian Coulter

[ShaunakDesaiPiano]

Mozart roasting the entire 20th century 200 years early by calling this piece a joke.

[DrLudwigSchoen]

5/6 of the whole tone scale is in the melodic minor scale, and you can hear them on consecutive downbeats of the Bach 2 part Invention in D minor, when the left hand has the trill.

[austinpowers]

I love the violin string "breaking" so much

[OrpheoCT]

I just got your channel on my recommendations and I'm thrilled! I love these more recent shorter videos, I can't wait to watch the older longer ones. Your channel doesn't have nearly as many subscribers as I thought it would have. I'm sure it'll explode shortly now that its makings the rounds through the algorithm!

[jerrysun]

After writing that c major scale, Mozart should really seek major help

[Wilbeerthoven]

Most entertaining channel on youtube sir! Thank u!

[amj.composer]

Aah yes a musical joke. I love this piece so much

[juansebastiangimenezrivero]

Mozart todavía tiene muchísimo por enseñarnos 🤯

Muchas gracias por el vídeo, es muy interesante lo que aprendemos analizando y estudiando a profundidad una obra así.

Abrazos.

[gigogrom]

Glinka actually invented whole tone scale in his opera "Ruslan and Ludmila", the scale was representing evil wizard

[Yubin_Lee_Doramelin]

I find the devastating polytonality (F + G + A + E flat + B flat) at the end of this piece (KV. 522) much more interesting than the whole tone scale...

[Alix.]

Talk about k.428 where we can hear the Tristan chord in the 2nd movement.

[liamnevilleviolist]

I wonder how many people (at the time/era this was first performed) thought that perhaps the performer played a wrong note.... It'd be interesting to go back in time and discuss this piece with those audiences!

[KaikhosruShapurjiMedtner]

Actually Tausig used the whole tone scale in a piano piece called “Das Geisterschiff” from 1860.

[carlosa.a.]

Wtf with that ending, lol.

It was so unexpected as mah dude Mozart was chilling as usual with major scales and conventional 3rds, 5ths and 7ths, and then, you expect the last tension, maybe with a 9nth and finally the tonic...

BUT NO.
Dude lit goes Debussy (Yes I saw him peeking there) and uses a fkin weird riser, and then...
Tonic?
NEITHER!
He does that last pizzicato. Seemingly out of tone.
Super random. Lad could've been a shitposter. Loved it. <3

[timothyhoft]

Bach's "Es is Genug" uses a part of the whole tone scale, and not as a joke.

[gliderfan]

20th-century music: am I joke to you?
Mozart: Yes.

[arionthedeer]

What is the ending music, is it the same piece?

[TheAsrgrant]

Ive no idea what I have just watched, but I loved it.

[BlendedMozart]

The same year as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as well

[wilhlmmusic]

Playing out of tune then breaking the string