Entries from April 2007
(A) Introduction
In a scene from Last Action Hero, Jack Slater (Arnold Schwarzenegger) confronts John Practice (F. Murray Abraham, who also played Salieri in Amadeus), who just betrayed him to the bad guys:
Jack Slater: “Danny told me not to trust you. He said you killed Mozart.”
John Practice: “Moe who?”
Jack Slater: “Zart.”
John Practice: [thinks for a bit, shrugs] “You know, I kill a lot of people, I can’t remember half of them.”
Yes, this is the memory that comes to mind whenever I hear the name “Mozart.” Hey, it’s better than Rock Me Amadeus.
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Categories: Metalhead does Classical
(A) Introduction
I’m going to continue listening to Haydn’s string quartets, again using a review of them on the Flying Inkpot.
(B) Quartets 29-34: Opus 50, the “Prussian” quartets (1787)
These were dedicated to King Fredrick William of Russia. But what’s really interesting is what they say about the relationship between Haydn and Mozart. Haydn and Mozart were buddies – they even played in string quartets together sometimes. Can you imagine having those guys in your house band? Sweet Lords of Kobol!
Two years earlier Mozart had written his “Haydn” quartets as an homage to his friend and fellow composer. Haydn returned the favour with this set of quartets, which were written in a Mozartian style.
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Categories: Metalhead does Classical
