Mozart in the morning

Diana Uichanco

Why do classical music compositions have such abstract titles so as to be nearly impossible to remember? Did Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and the other musical greats forget to consider non-musical folks (and people with poor memories) as they decided on titles for their masterpieces?

Image: Pixabay

Beethoven's Fur Elise is the only title of a classical piece that I can recall right now. Oh, there's A Little Night Music, too, by Mozart. Apart from that, the familiar titles are scarce because most are the likes of Piano Sonata # so and so, or Oboe Concerto in this or that minor, or Symphony # something in so-and-so major. I sure wish I could appreciate the significance of naming the fruits of their musical explorations in such a manner. 
...
(Three months later...)

The significance of naming musical compositions with number so-and-so and in this major or that minor still escapes me. But my eyes have ceased to turn like pinwheels in confusion (figuratively speaking) whenever I come across such titles. Symphony no. 9 (Beethoven) and Symphony no. 25 (Mozart) have filled the air at home so frequently that I now enjoy a sort of familiarity with the titles and can match them with the actual piece! However, I still appreciate more the likes of Masquerade Waltz (Khachaturian) and Serenade (Schubert) when it comes to titles due to the ease of recall. 

These two classical compositions, by the way, are part of a playlist I made. I haven't even thought of counting the number of items in this particular playlist, but to date I would say about two dozen. In it is music by various composers besides Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and Bach -- both familiar and unfamiliar.

Aram Khachaturian, a native of Georgia in the former USSR whose pieces first became popular in the latter half of the 1930s, was a new discovery for me. I can also say that I now have a renewed appreciation of children's fairy tales by way of the Peter and the Wolf main theme, thanks to Sergei Prokofiev (he with the surname which still has me a few moments in thought before pronouncing it correctly). 

Image: Pixabay
The mix is emotionally gratifying, thereby giving  me much satisfaction after I play it on some mornings of the week. What fill the air of our home at the beginning of most days, however, are the melodious masterpieces of Mozart. 

I must admit, that oft-discussed "Mozart effect," or the fascinating influence of the Austrian composer's music on behavior and even cognitive abilities, was what prompted me to make listening to his compositions a daily thing. Who knows to what miraculous transformations the strains of his violin concertos can lead? As long as my brain is alive, developing mathematical brilliance is possible! Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, was my thought seconds later. Serenity -- whether consistent, or enjoyed merely while the music wafts across the living room -- ought to be enough reason to listen to this music.

So that's what happened -- it didn't matter that the playlist of seven accompanied us morning after morning (it has expanded to 11 compositions since being created). I certainly don't get tired of listening to the same pieces over breakfast and the few instances I'm bent over the kitchen sink afterwards, day after day.

The Marriage of Figaro overture remains my favorite among the mix. Flute Quartet in D Major, with its light-hearted harmonies of flute and violin, conjures images of little fairies tiptoeing all over the place, and dainty butterflies going about their business in a garden. How can tranquility not set in with such aural stimulation from all around? In this case, a title like Flute Quartet in D Major -- while still refusing to hold firmly onto my memory -- suffices. It is a masterpiece, a subtle one, as far as I'm concerned. 

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