Our local classical radio station announcer just implied that Mozart was a Baroque composer.
Hmmm. Am I totally crazy? (I already know I’m a little crazy, so it’s the “totally” I’m asking about here.) This information is new to me. But there you go. If KDFC says it, it must be true.
Right?
In any case, the radio announcer was talking about the next work to be played, Mozart’s Sinfonie Concertante for flute, oboe, horn and bassoon. The player he was talking about was Rampal (flute) and he said Rampal always liked to play Baroque music and leaned toward the quieter and more structured works. Something like that anyway. And the way he said it did imply that the Mozart was one of those Baroque works.
I know my music history knowledge isn’t very strong, so I’m ready for anyone to tell me why I’m confused! 🙂
Let’s start with the unfortunate but undeniable fact that the announcers at KDFC are idiots.
That said, there’s a smidgin of truth here. The usual belief is
that Baroque music was completely wiped off the board when the new
generation, marked by Bach’s sons (well, his younger sons, anyway),
came along. But that’s not entirely true. Mozart had a
liking for some Baroque music – remember that he reorchestrated Messiah
– and Baroque forms and balances, if not so much Baroque stylizations,
show up in some of his works. This is one of them. Early
Haydn, too. They’re not actually Baroque, but they do have
Baroque features.
Ah … thanks for the info.
Can’t say I’d call anyone an idiot, but that’s due to my idiocy, I suppose.