# Ranking Mozart (sort of)



## SeanWolferl (May 19, 2012)

If one were to divide Mozart's oeuvre into the following 7 categories, in what order would you place them relative to their value to you? Based on the amount of enjoyment you get, and how accomplished he was in each area in your opinion.

My ranking:

Concerto
Opera
Chamber Works
Symphony
Solo Works for Keyboard
Choral Works
Light Music


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Concertos


Choral works
Chamber works

Symphony
Light works including serenades
Solo works for keyboard

Opera


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Solo works for keyboard
Choral works

Symphony
Light music

Opera

Chamber works


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## IBMchicago (May 16, 2012)

Opera
Concertos (excluding violin)

Symphony
Choral Works
Chamber / Quartet / Quintet

Lighter works and keyboard sonata / solo works


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

Puccini, Verdi are vocal composers - Beethoven isn't a vocal composer. Yes, I know that Beethoven wrote one opera, but the operative word here is "one". Beethoven wrote good vocal music but he was not primarily a vocal composer. 

Mozart was a vocal composer, and it is not surpising that in his operas and concertos he is most accomplished. Indeed, it actually goes the other way: because his operas are so great and his non-vocal music is at its best when it can aspire to the song (as in the piano concertos), it follows that he is a vocal composer. Face it, whether you like them or not, many of his symphonies are not great symphonies. All of Beethoven's are.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

SeanWolferl said:


> If one were to divide Mozart's oeuvre into the following 7 categories, in what order would you place them relative to their value to you? Based on the amount of enjoyment you get, and how accomplished he was in each area in your opinion.
> 
> My ranking:
> 
> ...


Mozart's passion were the opera and the piano concerto, above all others. Mine also happen to be these two genres, where his poured his genius into these two genres producing ground breaking works at the time.


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## SeanWolferl (May 19, 2012)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Mozart's passion were the opera and the piano concerto, above all others. Mine also happen to be these two genres, where his poured his genius into these two genres producing ground breaking works at the time.


While browsing through this forum I stumbled across the recommendation of the Complete Fortepiano Concertos by Viviana Sofronitsky, and I must say, wow. This is really a treat, just listening to #14 at the moment. Also, on your own personal recommendation in another thread, I ordered the last 10 string quartets performed by the Quatuor Mosaïques, which I'm patiently waiting to dive into as well.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

*Opera*- I don't think any genre was of greater importance to Mozart... nor was Mozart of greater importance to any other genre. He truly redefined opera and in the process composed more than a half-dozen brilliant operas... at least 4 of which remain consistently at the top of the list of all opera.

*Piano Concertos*- I agree with HC that piano concertos represent Mozart's second passion. I can't think of any other composer whose achievements in the genre can rival the whole of Mozart's oeuvre. So many exquisite works... even among some of his earliest.

*Choral and other vocal music*- In many ways Mozart was a vocal composer over everything else. In spite of the limited scope of his choral output, he produced many of his finest works here: the Great Mass, the Requiem, the Coronation Mass, Exsultate, jubilate, Vesperae solennes de confessore, etc...

*Chamber music*- For all the worth of the late symphonies, Mozart simply produced such a wealth of chamber music in virtually every imaginable genre: clarinet quintet, quintet for piano and winds, the late string quartets, the violin sonatas... even the works for glass harmonica.

*Symphonic-* Of course we have the great late symphonies... especially 40 and 41... but I would also include symphonic works such as the overtures, the Masonic Funeral Music, Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, the Gran Partita, the Haffner Serenade, etc...

*Concertos-*- Here we have the clarinet concerto as well as the 4 horn concertos, the flute concertos, and the violin concertos. With a few exceptions this is not Mozart at his finest... but again there are more than a few gems... the clarinet concerto above all else.

*Solo Keyboard Music*- Where Beethoven (and subsequent composers) took the piano sonata to an almost symphonic level... capable of the greatest expressiveness, Mozart's solo piano work was often composed for performance by students (yet never approaches the level of Bach's didactic work). Still these works are quite pleasant... and there are some real gems.


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## dmg (Sep 13, 2009)

Choral Works
Opera
Symphonies

Concerti

Keyboard Works
Serenades/Dances

Chamber Music


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Here's a quote from Mozart that I've paraphrased: "I see myself as a composer of operas who writes concertos for money and chamber music for my friends."


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

All you're saying about Mozart's vocal music is probably true, but I still find it impossible to play this particular game. If I were to list my favorite Mozart works, they would be:

Clarinet Concerto
Symphony #39
Clarinet Quintet
The Magic Flute
Posthorn Serenade


Five works, five different genre. And, these works are so close in preference for me, that they are almost interchangeable.


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