Sonic Asymmetry

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “Rondo alla Turca”

ヴォルフガング・アマデウス・モーツァルト：「トルコ行進曲」

TIME COMMITMENT: 3 minutes

Rallying and throbbing, lashing and oniric, this excerpt remains one of the homo sapiens’ biggest Schlager ever.  But its historical pedigree is intriguing.  Turkish military marching bands were popular salon curiosities, as formerly scary things often are.  After all, this piece was most likely penned in Vienna, exactly 100 years after the city’s last, unsuccessful siege by the Ottomans.  If we discount Jean-Philippe Rameau’s colorful titles, the “Rondo” could also count as the preface to orientalism in Occidental Music.  Here, we invert the trick, presenting the piano-less Japanese version, which seems less shamelessly percussive than the ubiquitous keyboard performances dished out by Westerners.

MUSIC

INFO

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_No._11_(Mozart)

A REFLECTION

I sought the tavern at the break of day,

Though half the world was still asleep in bed;

The harp and flute were up and in full swing,

And a most pleasant morning sound made they.

Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī: “Ode 487” also known as “With last night’s wine still singing in my head”