# Help me listen to something other than Mozart



## hagridindminor (Nov 5, 2015)

I think my ears have been spoiled by listening to too much Mozart, I try to listen to other composers but I really can't, I mean I'll appreciate certain songs but eventually I come back to Mozart. Sometimes I'd even be sick of listening to him, so I'll try to change it up by listening to something else, but that would just remind me how special Mozart actually is. I mean he will always be my favorite composer, but like I'm trying to find a second favorite but I'm having trouble doing so because its just so hard getting into another composer


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Listen to Prokofiev. He wrote tons of stuff. He wrote operas, ballets, symphonies, concertos, sonatas, cantatas, film music, endless solo piano works, chamber works......it just goes on and on. Plus he was a great melodist, and a virtuoso pianist, chess and bridge player, and was often quite nasty, cruel, and self-centered, though many people got on famously with him. 100% guarantee to please.

Start with either Peter and the Wolf, or the piano concerto #3, or Alexander Nevsky cantata, depending on your mood or inclination at the moment. Of course, I could list 100 other choices, but others will supply those.


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## hagridindminor (Nov 5, 2015)

I'll give it a listen, and I'll let you know how it goes


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## poconoron (Oct 26, 2011)

I had a similar issue many years ago, but branched out to Haydn, JS Bach, Beethoven, Rossini and Brahms. And I do find much enjoyment in those composers as well, though I always return to my #1 - Mozart.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

hagridindminor said:


> I think my ears have been spoiled by listening to too much Mozart, I try to listen to other composers but I really can't, I mean I'll appreciate certain songs but eventually I come back to Mozart. Sometimes I'd even be sick of listening to him, so I'll try to change it up by listening to something else, but that would just remind me how special Mozart actually is. I mean he will always be my favorite composer, but like I'm trying to find a second favorite but I'm having trouble doing so because its just so hard getting into another composer


I use to spent some time in record stores and listen to what they were playing out loud.
Wonderful way to discover music :tiphat:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

hagridindminor said:


> I think my ears have been spoiled by listening to too much Mozart, I try to listen to other composers but I really can't, I mean I'll appreciate certain songs but eventually I come back to Mozart. Sometimes I'd even be sick of listening to him, so I'll try to change it up by listening to something else, but that would just remind me how special Mozart actually is. I mean he will always be my favorite composer, but like I'm trying to find a second favorite but I'm having trouble doing so because its just so hard getting into another composer


Your ears haven't been spoiled - just finely tuned!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I had that problem, although it was with non-tonal music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries......

Maybe listen to some Schnittke, like Moz-Art à la Haydn.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Have you listened to Haydn's quartets? Mozart is my favorite composer, but I actually enjoy Haydn's quartets more than Mozart's. Haydn's symphonies are also spectacular.


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## TradeMark (Mar 12, 2015)

You could try working your way up by listening to Schubert, then Schumann, then Brahms, then Schoenberg and so forth. Or you could try working your way down by listening to late baroque composers, then early baroque, and then move on to Renaissance composers. Actually, doing both would probably be best.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Might I recommend some Joseph Martin Kraus, the so called Swedish Mozart? His is absolutely timeless sublime music.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I second Weston's suggestion for Kraus. 

There are some really sublime Beethoven pieces for piano solo and also for orchestra that are fully Beethoven while having a more refined classicist angle to them. 

Try his opus 14 piano sonatas, both of them, for a lighter version of this. For a more fleshed out sort of thing, try op 78 in F sharp minor. And his symphony no. 8 too.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Get into Rossini who stands for the same qualities as Mozart - wit, craftsman excellence and profound beauty discreetly hidden from superficial people.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I'd also recommend Bizet in that vein. He didn't write a lot of music, but all of it is very good and fresh.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Joseph Martin Kraus as mentioned is great and similar in style to Mozart. I would start with Haydn & Beethoven as well as J.S. Bach.


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Mahler's 4th maybe?


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Go to concerts. You'll be amazed how much easier it is to connect to unfamiliar things when you're presented with them live.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

MarkW said:


> Go to concerts. You'll be amazed how much easier it is to connect to unfamiliar things when you're presented with them live.


This can be very true. Sometimes even if you didn't enjoy it live, you have that experience to go back and relate to when you listen to it later.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

I had the same thing for a good while... and i gradually branched out.Try mendelssohn he's very easy on the ear. Brahms uses classical structure but with a romantic feel so he's a good next step I found. I still love Mozart but after some work I finally 'got' Sibelius and Mahler .. etc ...And u are right to want to branch out because you get very different and rich rewards from a wider palette. And yes Haydn - try the quartet 'fifths' it's perfect just like Mozart.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I think a Mozart lover (which I am) would be very happy listening to Schubert's late sonatas.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

DavidA said:


> I think a Mozart lover (which I am) would be very happy listening to Schubert's late sonatas.


Or the good middle and earlier ones, actually.

I'm thinking of this one, D 664:


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## Dim7 (Apr 24, 2009)

Schubert's 5th symphony is so Mozart that it wouldn't even help appreciating other composers.


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## Oscarf (Dec 13, 2014)

Going for Haydn symphonies and piano sonatas or Schubert symphonies might be a good choice


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

MarkW said:


> Go to concerts. You'll be amazed how much easier it is to connect to unfamiliar things when you're presented with them live.


For sure. I went to see Beethoven's Fifth, which I had connected with on first hearing back about 40 years ago, but the concert also had Mahler's first and I was not really interested in Mahler, but I'll say the Mahler symphony was absolutely and wonderfully engaging in live concert.

For a break from Mozart, try Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms symphonies.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If repeated attempts to love music other than Mozart by listening to it don't work for you, try approaching music in a wider context. Music is more than appealing or unappealing sounds, and it doesn't come from nowhere. Read about it - about composers, their lives, their times, their contemporaries. Take an interest in the other arts as well: painting, dance, drama, literature. Their relationship to the music which is contemporary with them may not be obvious - though music combines with other arts magically to give us song, opera, and ballet - but the more you expose yourself to them the more that relationship will make itself felt. When you begin to sense these inter-aesthetic and cultural connections, even music you like less, or not at all, will begin to speak to you in unexpected ways, and you may find yourself fascinated by it.


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## hagridindminor (Nov 5, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> Listen to Prokofiev. He wrote tons of stuff. He wrote operas, ballets, symphonies, concertos, sonatas, cantatas, film music, endless solo piano works, chamber works......it just goes on and on. Plus he was a great melodist, and a virtuoso pianist, chess and bridge player, and was often quite nasty, cruel, and self-centered, though many people got on famously with him. 100% guarantee to please.
> 
> Start with either Peter and the Wolf, or the piano concerto #3, or Alexander Nevsky cantata, depending on your mood or inclination at the moment. Of course, I could list 100 other choices, but others will supply those.


After listening, a huge step away from Mozart, but maybe thats what I need, to step from that haydn/mozart sound. It still takes time adjusting because Mozart for the most part does not stray away too much the scale, which is i find music past the romantic era a little difficult to listen to.


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## hagridindminor (Nov 5, 2015)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I had that problem, although it was with non-tonal music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries......
> 
> Maybe listen to some Schnittke, like Moz-Art à la Haydn.


I find that if youre born around jazz your ear naturally cannot understand classical, while if you grow up around classical your your ear cannot appreciate jazz. Somebody tell me I'm not the only one who feels that way


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

hagridindminor said:


> I find that if youre born around jazz your ear naturally cannot understand classical, while if you grow up around classical your your ear cannot appreciate jazz. Somebody tell me I'm not the only one who feels that way


My uncle was totally into jazz, my mother was totally into classical. I like both, though I listen to much more classical.

As for the OP. As already mentioned: Haydn, Schubert. But also read about other composers because I think context and setting helps the music.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

hagridindminor said:


> After listening, a huge step away from Mozart, but maybe thats what I need, to step from that haydn/mozart sound.


Exactly right! I figured you need a blast of fresh air from the steppe and the 20th century, and that is what Prokofiev can supply in quantity. And you can always listen to the Classical Symphony if/when you feel a little homesick. In some ways, P can be thought of as a reincarnation of M--gifted melodist, vast output in many genres, virtuoso pianist, genius. Upon further reflection, I'd begin with the Piano Concerto #3, a stupefyingly beautiful piece of music. Best of luck in your further explorations.


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## Dawood (Oct 11, 2015)

Listen to Beethoven. Try the first symphony. Imagine it's a recently discovered work by Mozart. 

Then as the music plays imagine that you are involved in a unraveling mystery staring you as the hero. By the end of the third movement it has transpired - open mouths - that this is not a work by Mozart, but this upstart called Ludwig. 

Good luck, soldier! :trp:


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

hagridindminor said:


> I think my ears have been spoiled by listening to too much Mozart, I try to listen to other composers but I really can't, I mean I'll appreciate certain songs but eventually I come back to Mozart. Sometimes I'd even be sick of listening to him, so I'll try to change it up by listening to something else, but that would just remind me how special Mozart actually is. I mean he will always be my favorite composer, but like I'm trying to find a second favorite but I'm having trouble doing so because its just so hard getting into another composer


Try Tchaikovsky. His melodic inventions are great with his best ballads and symphonies.


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## MosmanViolinist (Nov 10, 2015)

Try Louis Spohr, charming, inventive and richly melodious.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

ArtMusic said:


> Try Tchaikovsky. His melodic inventions are great with his best ballads and symphonies.


Just for the sake of clarity, *Ballet* is the one with the dancing. A ballad is a certain song form.


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2015)

After Mozart, Bach is the logical next step. Try the Brandenburg Concertos.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

violadude said:


> Just for the sake of clarity, *Ballet* is the one with the dancing. A ballad is a certain song form.


Just for the sake of clarity, though ArtMusic probably confused things again indeed, Tchaikovsky DID write ballades and they're not neccessarily 'songs':






This orchestral piece was labeled as symphonic ballade.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Jerome said:


> After Mozart, Bach is the logical next step. Try the Brandenburg Concertos.


Bach's three violin concertos too.


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## spaceman (Nov 18, 2015)

Hagridindminor,
I'd like to know what you have tired to listen to, what you didn't like about it. You mention 'songs'; are you especially drawn to Mozart's operas in particular? What are the other songs you like - before returning to Mozart?
Personally I'd recommend listening to the radio, a good show, good headphones.
Good luck - do let us know how you get on with your dilemma!


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

I would recommend to stay close to Mozart: Johann Christian Bach






Very galante music.

Also close to Mozart in spirit but so directly not in musical terms is Christoph Willibald Gluck


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

On staying close to Mozart, this one might do:


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

violadude said:


> Just for the sake of clarity, *Ballet* is the one with the dancing. A ballad is a certain song form.


Thanks, I would recommend Sleepy Beauty, Nutcracker and Swan Lake.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Aramis said:


> Just for the sake of clarity, though ArtMusic probably confused things again indeed, Tchaikovsky DID write ballades and they're not neccessarily 'songs':
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, I realize that. Ballad was originally a song form. It found its way into Romantic Era instrumental music, sometimes replicating the song form in some way, and sometimes referring to a piece of music that is generally supposed to have been inspired by or invoke literature.


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

hagridindminor said:


> I find that if youre born around jazz your ear naturally cannot understand classical, while if you grow up around classical your your ear cannot appreciate jazz. Somebody tell me I'm not the only one who feels that way


Something of the sort may happen and may remain the case for those people if they don't at some point put serious, long-term effort into re-wiring their brains and opening up their minds to other kinds of music. I've done this sort of rewiring myself so I have some tips for you:

1) If you don't already, start trying to pay attention to the bass, the harmony, the inner voices, in addition to the melody or top voice. I recommend shifting your focus from voice to voice often enough that you get a sort of big-picture view of the whole thing, or as close to it as you can manage. The get an idea of the bass is easy if it's slow enough, because you only have to hear it when the note changes, because you can keep that note in your memory and can sort of 'hear' it until the next change even if you don't pay attention to it all the time. There's a lot I could say here, but the important thing is that when I started developing my ability to follow polyphonic music over ten years ago, listening to Bach fugues was confusing and tiresome - but after a few years, I was able to follow them nicely enough and I felt like I was able to appreciate them rather well, some of them even became huge favorites, sometimes the same ones that had seemed impenetrable before. It just takes time and some skilful effort, in your case probably a lot less time and effort than in mine, because you have a decent foundation in Mozart.

2) Maybe start listening to something completely different as suggested by others. But you need to put real time into it. Listening to something foreign like Ockeghem or Prokofiev can help you learn to let go of your expectations and just follow sequences of notes, what ever they may be. If the music is too similar, it may be harder to stop expecting it to do similar things. Listening to strange stuff could be a sort of short-cut to an open mind. I think something like this may have happened with me after listening to enough Renaissance music, because a year or two after starting, I noticed that modernist classical had started to seem rather accessible all of a sudden.

3) If you're not already doing it, listen to slow music, like the scene from the third act of Parsifal where Parsifal returns, and try to hang on to notes and perceive the tension that some of them have before they resolve to a chord tone or the tonic. Learn to savor the tension and the release, and you're a lot closer to getting much of Wagner.

4) I don't think music needs anything beyond itself to be effective, but in some cases you may not see the point if you don't approach it from a certain perspective. In my case, I like modernist music more now because I've become more of a pessimist, and I find much of it sublimates the horror of existence for me. I don't recommend becoming a pessimist, but you never know what kind of music will feel close to you in the future, so I'd keep an open mind and try different things from time to time. The corollary is that attitude does matter in some cases, but I don't have any particular advice other than maybe trying to listen to music for different things than you're used to - mood perhaps, tonal tension and harmony (as mentioned), polyphony (as mentioned).


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## KetchupOnIce (Nov 18, 2014)

Haydn's Op. 33 String Quartets are very good. I didn't much care for Haydn until I heard them. As for other works by Haydn, try these:
Symphony No. 6 in D Major
Symphony No. 44 in E Minor
Symphony No. 45 in F# Minor
Symphony No. 49 in F Minor
Symphony No. 83 in G Minor
Symphony No. 88 in G Major
Symphony No. 95 in C Minor
Another good composer from the period is Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739-1813)
Try these pieces by him:
Symphony in D Minor
Symphony in G Minor
Symphony in C Major "Comista"
Symphony in C Minor
Stabat Mater in F Minor
You also can't go wrong with Franz or Georg Benda.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Listen to Mozart all you want. 

You'll stop eventually.


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## Lyricus (Dec 11, 2015)

I don't know how Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, or Clementi can't entice someone away from Mozart, at least temporarily. Also, have you tried Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody?


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## Muse Wanderer (Feb 16, 2014)

The solution is to accept that there will never be another Mozart.

Your mind needs to accustom itself to someone else's 'voice', someone else's way of composition.

Trying to find Mozartian qualities in other composers is futile, your mind will keep reaching to Mozart as that is the way it 'needs to be'.

I found myself once in this scenario when I delved into Handel after a year of constantly listening to J S Bach. I kept trying to find Bach's music into every bar and note written by Handel. It was disappointing to say the least. Bach was my alpha and omega at the time (and somewhat he still is!). Eventually I had to accept that Handel was 'different' to Bach.

Nowadays I absolutely love Handel especially after listening to his operas. I am aware of Handel's own 'voice', figuratively speaking.

The beauty of this is that there will never be another Handel, there will never be another J S Bach, there will never be another ....... etc etc

Every good composer will have his own 'voice' or 'character' completely different from his peers or any other composer of any other era.

Once your mind gets accustomed to another composer's style, than something will click. It may not be to your liking eventually, but the music would just make sense.

This will be the case for composers as diverse as Josquin des Prez or Schubert, Schoenberg and Feldman.

It will feel the same as when you listen to Mozart. That 'voice', that unique music will be recognisable as being noone else's but that particular composer.

Your mind will have another place to store the musicality of that particular composer style.

All you need is time to dedicate to other composers of any era and they will offer their own fantastic unique world of music to your ears.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Again, the answer is a single word: Prokofiev. (No, not  "Plastics")


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

The key to listening to something other than Mozart is to realize that inferior music can still be entertaining. You might start off by listening to works in the Mozart catalog that are of doubtful authorship. A great way to wean yourself further is by listening to a whole Requiem, not just the first Mozartian half. Then I'd suggest listening to a little Beethoven, then some Bach, perhaps a little Schubert, Haydn, Debussy, and Stravinsky. Find a comprehensive ranked list and just work your way down. After decades of hard listening using this method, some of the most prodigious listeners among us can alternate between Britney Spears and Milton Babbitt without difficulty.


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## Biwa (Aug 3, 2015)

Muse Wanderer said:


> The solution is to accept that there will never be another Mozart.
> 
> Nowadays I absolutely love Handel especially after listening to his operas. I am aware of Handel's own 'voice', figuratively speaking.
> 
> ...


I absolutely adore Mozart! But there is so much other gorgeous music out there to enrich your life with. I heartily encourage to take a journey of musical exploration.

I also recommend Händel. Sheer joy!

Pergolesi's Stabat Mater is a deeply moving piece.

J.C Bach, Haydn, Spohr, Rossini, Chopin, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and other composers mentioned above are excellent choices. And any of Mozart's contemporaries from the mid 18th century to the early 19th century would probably be most agreeable.


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## sam93 (Nov 9, 2015)

There's no such thing as listening to too much Mozart my friend. 

If you fancy checking out some other composers though, why not try Haydn? Or if you fancy something very different to Mozart, maybe Shostakovich or Rachmaninoff.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Strange Magic's suggestion may be good: listen to Prokofiev. My good friend, a violinist, who has a lifetime of experience with classical music, has two favourite composers: Mozart and Prokofiev. There must be a connection. I guess it's something to do with clarity?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I think it is a combination of clarity, facility of composition, fertility of melody, and a joyous compulsion to work.


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