Sára Aksza GROSZ - Mozart According to Beethoven: Myths, Spirit and Style
Abstract
This paper traces the similarities and differences between Mozart and Beethoven back to three main points – myths, spirit and style – by analysing K. 464 and Op. 18, no. 5. It also commemorates Francisc László (1937-2010), the founder of the Romanian Mozart Society, by examining his post-Baroque concept. According to Goethe, the string quartet serves as a metaphor for conversation, but between who? “Gespräch zwischen einem Sanguineus und Melancholicus” proposes Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in his Trio Sonata in C minor, H. 579, a work echoed in K. 465 and Op. 18, no. 6 “La Malinconia”, too. Through these works the two main characters, the sanguine and the melancholic, affirm their friendship by polyphonic dialogues. Thus, they reveal Mozart’s and Beethoven’s double-faced head of Janus: one turned to the past in the form of tributes, and the other one turned to the future.
Keywords
W. A. Mozart, Beethoven, string quartet, C. P. E. Bach, Francisc László