The Difference Between Playing Bach and Mozart

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today, I’m going to talk about the difference between playing Bach and Mozart. They are two great composers. You hear their music all the time. Many pianists play both composers. There are some fundamental differences in the approach to playing Bach versus Mozart, which we’re going to discuss today.

The fundamentals come down to two criteria: the period styles and the instrument that they wrote for.

Bach lived from 1685 to 1750. Interestingly, he never wrote for the piano. Did he ever play the piano? Well, yes, there are records of him having played a very early incarnation of what was a piano. What distinguished the piano from other keyboard instruments of the age was the fact that the piano could play loud and soft, which is how it derived its name, the fortepiano or pianoforte which was later shortened to, the piano. Bach never specifically wrote for the piano. In fact, he never wrote for any particular keyboard instrument other than the organ. All of his keyboard music, other than his organ music, was written simply for clavier, which means, “keyboard”.

What instrument did Bach play?

Bach played the clavichord. It was his favorite keyboard instrument because of its expressiveness. On the clavichord, the key mechanism would be in contact with the string to impart vibrato and other expressive elements that the harpsichord could not do. Yet the harpsichord was the most popular keyboard instrument in performance because of its robust tone. The clavichord was so quiet that it really wasn’t a performance instrument. So we can presume that most of Bach’s music was performed primarily on the harpsichord. And the harpsichord, as I said, didn’t have dynamics. You could push the keys with great energy or push them lightly, and you would get the same volume. And this is key to the type of music written for the instrument: contrapuntal music, music with intertwining melodies. The harpsichord had a strident sound that cut through, which worked very well with chamber music. The clarity of tone allowed the counterpoint to come through.

Mozart was born in 1756 and lived only 35 years.

During Mozart’s life, the fortepiano had developed somewhat and gained popularity. So Mozart did write for the piano, although he played both the harpsichord and the piano. But his music took advantage of the fact that you could play loud and soft, so different parts could be played dynamically with the two hands.

Let’s talk a bit about the stylistic differences between Bach and Mozart.

Bach lived during the Baroque era, which is noted for its counterpoint. I keep using that word. What does it mean? It means that you have separate lines of music intertwining with one another, so you get music where everything has equal importance between the hands and the different lines. All of the lines have equal prominence. Bach wrote using counterpoint. Contrast that with Mozart, where you clearly have melody and harmony. For example, in his famous C major, K 545 Sonata, you have a melody in the right hand and broken chords in the left hand. There’s not much going on in the left hand, but you have a beautiful melody in the right hand. So you have a clear melody against harmony. This is in no small part because the instrument itself was capable of playing different dynamics in different registers.

As the instrument became more capable, the musical form evolved.

The form had evolved from counterpoint, the interweaving of different lines, like a tapestry of music, to more structured music with different sections. The sonata allegro form, with its exposition, development and recapitulation, was very structured formal music where different sections were clearly delineated, rather than the intertwining of different lines in the Baroque era. That’s why the performance practices are so dramatically different. In a fugue, you want to clearly show the counterpoint and the important lines of subjects, the opening motif of a fugue. For example, you want to hear a clear delineation whenever the opening statement of a fugue returns. Whereas in a sonata movement, you want to show the themes that come back at strategic places within the movement. The structure is of paramount importance. You can hear the melody clearly in one hand and the accompaniment in the other hand. It’s the delineation of the structure of the work that makes the performance alive and digestible for an audience. Where, in the case of Bach, it’s the counterpoint and bringing out subjects strategically in fugues or inventions so the listener can make sense of the cacophony that could result if those subjects were not delineated clearly. Whenever the subject recurs, you bring it out so that the listener can make sense of the complex score, and you can bring clarity to the counterpoint. Whereas in Mozart, it’s the delineation of each macro section within the work that must be clear to the listener so the overall structure of the music can be appreciated.

While Mozart did write for the piano, it wasn’t like a modern piano.

During Mozart’s life, the piano didn’t have nearly the power or range of expression of a modern piano. The action was very simple. When you push a key on a modern piano, you’re putting dozens of parts in motion. Whereas the simple mechanism of a Mozart-era piano was not capable of the incredible repetition and power that a modern piano can produce. There were also only about five octaves of keys and no pedals. It’s a totally different instrument, but it had the same dynamic aspect of the modern piano that the harpsichord lacked. Those are some fundamental differences between the music of Bach and Mozart, the period styles of the flourishing counterpoint and ornamentation in baroque music, and the formal structure of Mozart’s classical era music, along with the different instruments they wrote for. I hope this is enlightening for you! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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