54. Structure and Simplicity

Strauss/Godowsky: Die Fledermaus (Symphonic Metamorphosis) Schoenberg: Six Short Pieces for Piano, Op. 19 Mozart: String Quartet in A Major, K. 464 When Leopold Godowsky, a virtuosic pianist and famous pedagogue, transcribed and arranged themes from Strauss’ operetta “Die Fledermaus” in 1912, he had two goals—to capture the charming and humorous spirit of Strauss' operetta and to extend the limits of pianistic technique. The result is a piece so difficult that it is rarely heard in live performance! Schoenberg's Six Short Pieces, also written in 1912, have a very different sound. The composer was just beginning to experiment with atonality and in these little piano pieces, Schoenberg creates succinct microcosms of music that truly are so short that they have no formal structure. The last selection is Mozart's Quartet in A Major. An original manuscript indicates that this quartet actually caused Mozart more trouble than his others. There are alterations, changes and musical fragments that are unusual for his composing style. The quartet itself, however, flows with so much lyricism and beauty that it is impossible to hear any hint of this compositional struggle.