This
month on Clef Notes, we’ve been looking at examples of exoticism found in
classical music. Many of the examples come from the late-nineteenth and early-
twentieth centuries. Let’s step back a
little further in time today and look at Mozart’s use of exoticism in his
Sonata No. 11 in A Major, K. 331.
Turkish
music was quite popular in eighteenth-century Vienna. This explains Mozart’s
decision to label the third movement of his Sonata No. 11 “Rondo alla Turca,”
using march-like references to Turkish Janissary bands.
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| Turkish Janissary Band: Courtesy of wikimedia.org |
Can
you hear the percussive sounds of a military marching band in the “Rondo alla Turca”
below?
Did
you know that Mozart’s birthday is Wednesday? Join me for a “Best of Mozart”
playlist!
