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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata in F major, KV 533/494 in the arrangement by Edvard Grieg : a critical examination of the musical text in the context of the primary sources

In 1879-1880, E. W. Fritzsch in Leipzig issued a most unusual collection entitled <i>Arrangements of Mozart Piano Sonatas with a freely composed second piano part without opus numbers</i>, prepared by the noted Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg (1843-1907). The collection of Griegs arrangement of Mozarts works comprises the <i>Piano Sonata in F major, KV 533/494</i> (composed in 1788), <i>Fantasia and the Piano Sonata in C minor, KV 475 and KV 457</i>(composed in 1784), the <i>Piano Sonata in C major, KV 545</i> (composed in 1788), and the <i>Piano Sonata in G major, KV 189h=283</i> (composed in 1775). According to the letter to Dr. Max Abraham, Grieg originally prepared his arrangements of Mozarts four sonatas for pedagogical reasons. In his article Mozart (November 1897), Grieg also mentions his own Mozart editions:<p>
<i>The writer of this article has himself attempted, by using a second piano, to impart to several of Mozarts pianoforte sonatas a tonal effect appealing to our modern ears; and he wishes to add, by way of apology, that he did not change a single one of Mozarts notes, thus preserving the respect we owe to the great master. It is not my opinion that this was an act of necessity; far from it. But provided a man does not follow the example of Gounod, who transformed a Bach prelude into a modern, sentimental, and trivial show piece, of which I absolutely disapprove, but seeks to preserve the unity of style, there is surely no reason for raising an outcry over his desire to attempt a modernization as one way of showing his admiration for an old master.</i><p>
With regard to this collection of Mozart sonatas, this thesis documents the influence of Mozart, a Viennese classical composer, on Grieg, a Norwegian Romantic composer, with a special focus on Mozarts <i>Piano Sonata in F Major, KV 533/494</i> in the arrangement by Grieg. With Griegs bold claim that he did not change a single one of Mozarts notes, this study reveals the authenticity through the critical examination of the musical text in the context of the primary sources.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-09212009-134335
Date22 September 2009
CreatorsNoh, Ohran
ContributorsKreyszig, Walter, Parkinson, David, Marion, Gregory, Solose, Kathleen, McNeill, Dean
PublisherUniversity of Saskatchewan
Source SetsUniversity of Saskatchewan Library
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-09212009-134335/
Rightsunrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.

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