Malcolm Bilson: Taste in Mozart and Chopin

[@petermerelis]

what a FANTASTIC sounding piano

[@CalebCarman]

These videos are great! Thank you, Malcolm Bilson! - Sincerely, a Bard college student

[@galek75]

Bard has great musical goings-on!

[@voxveritatis3815]

For the vast majority, the undisputed master of music, on the whole, is Mozart. Some J.S. Bach admirers resent this fact. They even rage against Mozart and attempt to discredit his music with the most outlandish arguments. Having said this, no one would ever question the supreme abilities for fugues and counterpoint Bach possesses. Bach's mathematical approach of music is second-to-none. The thing is, music is much more than math. It's a delicate balance between form and passion, the performer and the listener, message and interpretation of such. In this regard, no one surpasses Mozart either. Great video maestro, gracias!

[@incontrariomotu8902]

Don’t waste your time trying to figure out who’s better, each composer is unique in their own styles and languages. Mozart is no better than Bach as much as Bach is no better than Mozart. They were just distinct persons who did art from different perspectives and using different idioms. A more meaningful question would be “who innovated the most?”, but that’s a completely different story.

[@LG-pg1nb]

But you can't reduce Bach to maths (or mathematical maths). His music also has the passion you're talking about,the "interpretation problems", etc. It is living music. It's, I think, a matter of aesthetics and type of expressions.

[@classicallpvault8251]

This isn't correct. In reality opinions are divided between Beethoven, J.S. Bach and Mozart among both the general audience and professional musicians.

[@LPCLASSICAL]

I go with Bach Mozart and Beethoven. I am a Mozart fanatic however though I believe his absolute mastery of opera and every other genre gives him the edge. I believe that polls of musicologists tend to put Beethoven first, then Bach then Mozart. It's not a competition but it would be hard to dispute those are the 3 top composers.

[@LorenzoBovitutti]

Very inspiring man and musician.

[@OnlyMozart1]

3:02 J. C. Bach - Sonata In G, Op . 5/1: I. Allegro ; Mozart - Sonata in B♭, K. 333: I. Allegro 7:08 Schumann - Waldszenen, Op. 82: III. Einsame Blumen 10:02 Schubert - Sonata in B, D. 575: II. Andante 13:58 Chopin - Mazurka in B♭, Op. 17/1 19:48 Haydn - Sonata in E♭, Hob. 53: I. Allegro

[@desreves2676]

Just these tiny expositions of his thinking open up worlds!

[@LPCLASSICAL]

I would also struggle to tell apart little known Mozart works from minor masters' works. There are pieces where he just seems to be earning his daily bread or early pieces that were modelled on other composer's works.

[@francoisdugue2709]

To complet with Robert Levin lectures. And Charles Rosen . So linked !

[@GerardvanR]

Dear Mr. Bilson, About 30 years ago I regularly listened to your fortepiano playing on CD. But I must say, you played too fast for my taste at that time. Your tempi were so fast that the expression of the music suffered. In this video you talk about taste and expressing the musical details clearly. We are both 30 years older now. I suspect that you are now playing with less speed. So your taste might have changed as you got older. By the way, I really like this video. You give good advice to me and other musicians. Taste is a wonderful thing. We musicians can't live without it.