Arthur Schnabel famously said that “Mozart is too easy for children and too difficult for adults.” The modest technical difficulties and seemingly straightforward musical expression in his sonatas make many of them more approachable to younger players than, say, most of Beethoven’s. But it is this very simplicity and purity that make performing Mozart on the piano such a challenge. The notes may be few in number, but every one counts. A successful performance hinges on mastering numerous small details while retaining a sense of the long lines that contain all this detail.
New From the Ground Up edition
Our latest addition to our From the Ground Up series features the first movement of Mozart’s fifth sonata in G major (K283). Mozart composed his first six piano sonatas in late 1774 to early 1775. At eighteen, Mozart was already a highly-experienced composer with a masterful and mature style of his own. The fifth sonata, in G major, is one of the most often played and studied of these early sonatas. Its sophisticated phrasing, rhythmic vitality, and engaging lyricism make it a perennial delight to play, and to hear.
Edition features
- Full score with numbered sections which map to an extensive collection of practise routines
- Practice routines break down each of the challenging spots, providing exercises to help you to master all the technical and musical details from the outset
- Reduced score illustrating the large-scale rhythmic structure of the movement’s exposition showing the measure groups (phrase lengths) and hidden meter changes beneath the music’s surface detail
- Glossary of general practice methods to help learning a new piece more effectively
This new edition can be purchased separately from our store here or as part of a combined bundle featuring various works by Chopin, Grieg, Bach, Beethoven and Schumann. It is also included with an annual subscription to the Online Academy.
Please click here to find out more about subscription options or click here to view the series index if you are already a subscriber.
From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up is a series on the Online Academy devoted to learning individual pieces using outlines and reduced scores that help you to practise more effectively, memorise more consciously, and interpret music more creatively.
Each From the Ground Up edition starts with a reduced score or foundation which reveals the essential structure of the music. Detail is then added in layers through successive scores thus enabling learning a piece from the ground up rather than the top down. Please click here to find out more about From the Ground Up or on one of the following links to view the available editions:
- Schumann – Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (from Kinderszenen)
- Bach – Little Prelude in F (from the Notebook for Wilhelm Friedrich Bach)
- Beethoven – Sonatina in G
- Grieg – Arietta (Lyric Pieces, Op. 12, No. 1)
- Chopin – Nocturne in E-Flat (Op. 9, No. 2)
- Schumann – Album for the Young (No. 30)
- Chopin – Waltz in E minor (Op. Posth)
- Mozart – Sonata in G, K283 (1st mvt)