Exploring Music and Culture

Igor Stravinsky once suggested, “A good composer does not imitate, he steals.” Since the  early development of composition as a field of study, composers have observed and commented on each other’s work. Child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was arguably the most well known composer of the European Classical Period. He often copied the work of his mentors, as well as fellow composers he admired. Specifically, Johann Sebastian Bach greatly influenced Mozart’s style of counterpoint, of which Bach was a master. Joseph Haydn acted as a mentor figure for young Mozart, as the two would complement and pay tribute to each other’s work. In 1772, Mozart composed a series of six Quartets, dedicated to and in the style of the older composer. In Mozart: a life, author Peter Gay explains, “Mozart’s admiration for Haydn was perfectly genuine: just as Haydn esteemed Mozart above all other composers, so Mozart returned the compliment in full”(77). Borrowed ideas in musical compositions are ...

Music’s function within society is highly dependent on the environment in which it is performed. While music composed by the child-prodigy Wolfgang Mozart is now primarily listened to in formal settings with the audience's undivided attention, during his lifetime, the audience was usually preoccupied with other activities. In his book Mozart , Peter Gay explains that during Mozart’s childhood, his family would perform at parties while audience members would listen “at best intermittent[ly],” (14). Gay goes on further explaining, “In Mozart’s day, music, sacred music alone excepted, was still largely mere entertainment,” (14). In Salzburg, during Mozart's life, music acted more as background music than anything else. Music’s function within that society has now evolved into being used as main entertainment in formal settings in addition to how it was used previously. In concert halls and a few restaurants, such as Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley , music is the primary focus of enter...