# Rondo Alla Turca (Mozart)



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I find this to be one of his most distinctive melodies for solo piano, but I love them all. It really stands out!

Do you agree?


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## NoCoPilot (Nov 9, 2020)

John Williams' version for marimba rocks.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

NoCoPilot said:


> John Williams' version for marimba rocks.


Ha! Quirky. Thanks for sharing that.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I like Glenn Gould's take on Mozart's _Piano Sonata #11_. Most pianists use the _Rondo alla Turca_ as an opportunity to show off, but Gould (who certainly could have played as fast as anyone) slows it down and captures a quality that is more musical. This is interesting as Gould professed to dislike Mozart and early Beethoven in general, but his ideas on how to interpret such music is always innovative.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Listen to it played on a period piano with the _janissary stop_. The added percussive effects provide an interesting twist. These pianos where manufactured during that time when all things Turkish where in vogue:


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Sid James said:


> Listen to it played on a period piano with the _janissary stop_. The added percussive effects provide an interesting twist. These pianos where popular when Turkish music was all the rage in Europe:


I didn't care for this version very much, but I think I'd enjoy it on period instruments played differently.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Coach G said:


> I like Glenn Gould's take on Mozart's _Piano Sonata #11_. Most pianists use the _Rondo alla Turca_ as an opportunity to show off, but Gould (who certainly could have played as fast as anyone) slows it down and captures a quality that is more musical. This interesting as Gould professed to dislike Mozart and early Beethoven in general, but his ideas on how to interpret such music is always innovative.


I adore Gould's Mozart and in particular his Turkish March as well, so clever and bright! A genius he was.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

This work is the sole reason why I do not go to piano recitals anymore. It`s the "compulsory" encore piece here in Turkey. Over-exposure surely plays a big role in my negative opinion of it and I generally dislike all extra-musical connotations it bears but I really dislike the music per se. Its smug aura mocks me... Whenever I hear it in the radio or elsewhere I feel a quasi-perverse urge to turn it down asap. At such instances I liken myself to one of Poe`s deranged narrators who must kill their victims not because they are intimidated by them but simply _must_ do it. It`s probably not a _Room 101_ material as Philip Glass et al. for me but I wholeheartedly hate it nonetheless.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Highwayman said:


> This work is the sole reason why I do not go to piano recitals anymore. It`s the "compulsory" encore piece here in Turkey. Over-exposure surely plays a big role in my negative opinion of it and I generally dislike all extra-musical connotations it bears but I really dislike the music per se. Its smug aura mocks me... Whenever I hear it in the radio or elsewhere I feel a quasi-perverse urge to turn it down asap. At such instances I liken myself to one of Poe`s deranged narrators who must kill their victims not because they are intimidated by them but simply _must_ do it. It`s probably not a _Room 101_ material as Philip Glass et al. for me but I wholeheartedly hate it nonetheless.


Aw, lighten up. It's not so bad!  I get it though, but nothing by Mozart gets old for me.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Rondo Alla Turca (Turkish March) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (K331) played on glass harp by Robert Tiso.
I remember finding this on the web, fascinating .


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Thanks for sharing, Roger.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Captainnumber36 said:


> I find this to be one of his most distinctive melodies for solo piano, but I love them all. It really stands out!
> 
> Do you agree?


Mozart was good at rondos. My favourite for keyboard is 511.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

It's a distinctive melody to be sure. Not a favorite Mozart of mine, but very easy to understand why it became so well-known. Mozart had a miraculous ear for these kind of sticky melodies. The rondo as a whole is pretty darn fun in general the way it moves through its various sections, all of which provide a subtly different tonality to the movement as a whole. There's definitely a playfulness to the whole thing, perhaps even mischievous.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Eva Yojimbo said:


> It's a distinctive melody to be sure. Not a favorite Mozart of mine, but very easy to understand why it became so well-known. Mozart had a miraculous ear for these kind of sticky melodies. The rondo as a whole is pretty darn fun in general the way it moves through its various sections, all of which provide a subtly different tonality to the movement as a whole. There's definitely a playfulness to the whole thing, perhaps even mischievous.


My fingers were never fast enough to learn how to play it when I was in lessons, but I always loved hearing another student perform it. I was always better with slower, more emotive music.


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## CopistaSignorGomez (Dec 9, 2021)

I'm not sure the melody is from Mozart, at least the initial motif is from JC Bach

I had no doubt that Mozart knew this set of sonatas from JC Bach, and inspired Mozart

Mozart added the turkish elements


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## marlow (11 mo ago)

Fortepianos were designed with Turkish stops inspired by this piece


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

CopistaSignorGomez said:


> I'm not sure the melody is from Mozart, at least the initial motif is from JC Bach
> 
> I had no doubt that Mozart knew this set of sonatas from JC Bach, and inspired Mozart
> 
> Mozart added the turkish elements


Mozart did it much better.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I find it always funny how people react to in in an concert, kind off...'' .I know that piece '' and they gloat.


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## Trollcannon (11 mo ago)

Charming little piece but overplayed way too much.


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