Mozart in a Month

From August 2018 until February 2021, I will be learning all 18 Mozart Piano Sonatas. Why Mozart? I don't exactly recall how the idea came to me, but I get a lot of ideas for dream projects. This one has stuck. I have a particular style for Mozart in my ear, a specific way I think his music should go, but it's a style I don't hear a lot. I want to see how closely I can reach that ideal style.

I like the idea of digging in to a massive body of repertoire, of developing my own artistry through a long-term study of one composer. Many people say Mozart is the hardest composer to play for his intricacy and delicacy; I'm going to see if that's true. I myself used to hate Mozart, now I can't play his music enough.

I've grouped the Sonatas into 3 recitals, combining some earlier Sonatas with some mid- and late-career works, beyond accounting for length and key contrasts. I'll learn each Sonata one at a time, each over the course of one month, posting a performance before the next month begins. Once I've learned all the Sonatas from a recital, I'll take 1 last month to work on the program as a whole, producing a clearer, final performance record of each Sonata.

Throughout each month I will be documenting my work through video updates on my Facebook page, and posts on my blog. This page will serve as a hub: all of this content, plus the end-of-month and final recital performances will be linked here. You can use the tables below to check out which Sonata I'll be taking on next, and catch up on posts and updates before watching a few performances.

Recital #1: January 2019	Blog Posts and Updates	Performances
August 2018: Sonata #1 in C, K 279	Facebook Update #1 Don Giovanni The funny thing about 'Mozart in a Month' (AKA-I used to hate Mozart) Facebook Update #2 Mozart's Flute Quartets Walter Klein plays Mozart	Month-end Performance: August 31, 2018 September 5, 2018: Performance with Commentary
September, 2018: Sonata in a, K 310	L'Amour de Loin Progress Update #1 Tonality Sucks (and other myths) Mozart's Church Sonatas Nadia Reisenberg plays Mozart	Month-end Performance: September 28, 2018 October 1, 2018: Performance with Commentary
October 2018: Sonata in D, K 576	Mozart's Music is the hardest music The Magic Flute Andor Foldes Haffner Symphony 2 Perspectives: Leygraf and Horszowski, 1st Movement 2 Perspectives: Leygraf and Horszowski, 2nd Movement 2 Perspectives: Leygraf and Horszowski, 3rd Movement Post Performance Thoughts	Month-end Performance: October 31, 2018
November: Sonata in C, K 545	Progress Update #1 Franz Schreker's Die Gezeichneten Mozart Thoughts: Time and Bells 2 Perspectives: Uchida and Bezuidenhout, 1st movement 2 Perspectives: Uchida and Bezuidenhout, 2nd movement 2 Perspectives: Uchida and Bezuidenhout, 3rd movement Jupiter Symphony	Early run-through: November 6, 2018 Month-end Performance: November 30, 2018
December 2018: Sonata in G, K 283	Mitridate, Re di Ponte
January 2019: Sonata in Bb, K 333

Recital #2: February 2020	Blogs Posts and Updates	Performances
August 2019: : Sonata in D, K 311
September 2019: Sonata in Bb, K 570
October 2019: Sonata in D, K 284
November 2019: Sonata in Eb, K 282
December 2019: Sonata in F, K 280
January 2020: Sonata in A, K 331

Recital #3: February 2021	Blog Posts and Updates	Performances
August 2020: Sonata in F, K 533/494
September 2020: Sonata in C, K 309
October 2020: Sonata in c, K 457
November 2020: Sonata in Bb, K 281
December 2020: Sonata in F, K 332
January 2021: Sonata in C, K 330