History of Mozart. Zimbalist and Schumann

Evan Giannelli
Concert Report
(Fine Art’s Quartet June 1st. 2012)
The Fine Art’s Quartet featured three pieces that were originally composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Efrem Zimbalist, and Robert Schumann respectively. I will present each composer and their work in the above, named order.
The first piece, String Quartet No.   15 in D Minor, K. 421 was composed by, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart, born in 1751 was the last of seven children, of whom; five did not survive early childhood. By the age of three, Mozart was proficiently playing the clavichord, (a keyed instrument noted for its delicate tones, since the tangents do not rebound from the string until the key is released); by age four he began writing short compositions. Several accounts of young Mozart’s genius in music can be found, for instance, according to Higherrevelations.com, at the age of 7 Mozart picked up a violin at a musical gathering and sight-read the second part of a work, with absolute accuracy, despite never having taken violin lessons.
Mozart began gaining notoriety in Europe, around 1763 when he, as well as his sister Nannerl, began touring with their father Leopold. Mozart continued to travel Europe from 1762-1773 and began to compose his first works such as, the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto and the solo, Motet Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165. which are still widely preformed today.
In 1881, Mozart, traveled to and settled in Vienna, where he met Joseph Haydn around 1784, though he had, had a fondness for Hayden’s music for many years prior. Mozart and Hayden formed a lasting friendship and would often play together in an impromptu string quartet, when Haydn would visit Vienna. Mozart wrote six quartets dedicated to Haydn, date from the period 1782 to 1785, we will be looking at K. 421. K.421, had 4 movements, much like a symphony as was common of the day. The first three movements of K. 421 are played in sonata form. This musical form consists of movements that differ in tempo,...