The Challenge of Playing Mozart's Piano Music

The problems begin when you start listening to the details and really want to do justice to Mozart's ideas. Then you will realise that every one of the relatively few notes that you are playing demands that you find the exact right treatment for it to make it sound right. The constant danger of sounding too harsh, of lacking fluency and lightness, is one of the great challenges when playing the piano music of Mozart.

What I certainly don't think Schnabel meant, is that anyone should refrain from playing Mozart's piano music because of these difficulties. It is far too valuable both for player and listener to deserve such a fate. There might not be much in the talk about a "Mozart effect" (the theory that playing music by Mozart to a child, even to an unborn one, will help develop its brain). However, what has been scientifically proven is that when you learn to play the piano the brain really develops a lot.

By all means play a lot of Mozart's music to your child! Both of you will probably be a lot happier for it. But if you really want to give their brains a workout, also encourage them to play it. Now, don't let Schnabel make you think that you or your children could begin with the Mozart Sonatas. Most of them were intended for Mozart's own use in performance, and he was after all a very virtuoso musician. Only a few were written for pedagogical purposes. The Sonata No. 16 in C major was described by Mozart himself as "for beginners," and it is sometimes known by the nickname Sonata facile or Sonata semplice. It is possibly the most famous one, just because so many people have tried to play it.

But the complete beginner should start elsewhere. There are quite a lot of short, easy piano pieces - Minuets, Allegros, Andantes and the like - which Mozart wrote when he was a child. What Schnabel said of the Sonatas rings even more true when applied to these very charming pieces. It will take some effort, but your children will soon think them easy. At the same time, they will have begun to form a mental image of musical perfection, which will keep them striving to play better; to develop their touch, balance, phrasing and articulation to meet the demands of more difficult pieces.

By all means play a lot of Mozart's music to your child! Both of you will probably be a lot happier for it. But if you really want to give their brains a workout, also encourage them to play it. Now, don't let Schnabel make you think that you or your children could begin with the Sonatas. Most of them were intended for Mozart's own use in performance, and he was after all a very virtuoso musician. Only a few were written for pedagogical purposes. The Sonata No. 16 in C major was described by Mozart himself as "for beginners," and it is sometimes known by the nickname Sonata facile or Sonata semplice. It is possibly the most famous one, just because so many people have tried to play it.

But the complete beginner should start elsewhere. There are quite a lot of short, easy piano pieces - Minuets, Allegros, Andantes and the like - which Mozart wrote when he was a child. What Schnabel said of the Sonatas rings even more true when applied to these very charming pieces. It will take some effort, but your children will soon think them easy. At the same time, they will have begun to form a mental image of musical perfection, which will keep them striving to play better; to develop their touch, balance, phrasing and articulation to meet the demands of more difficult pieces.