What Do We Understand When We Say Classical Music?

How did Mozart come to write the Turkish Anthem?

He also wrote the opera "The Abduction of a Girl from the Palace", and while writing it, he used motifs from Turkish music. The subject of this opera is the Topkapi palace!

For example, the Fifth Violin concerto, also known as the Turkish concerto. This is also about the Turks.

As you can guess, he used motifs from Turkish music in this one too.

How did he make this music? 

What motivated him?

Or let alone motivation, how did he learn Turkish music?

***

He could have lived in Ottoman times, he could have come to Istanbul, Constantinople as it was then called, and taken Turkish music lessons from musicians!

No, of course not! 

He wrote these works in Vienna. He never left Vienna.

He is a genius! 

He doesn't need any education. 

Besides, if he needed, he called some Turkish musicians and they explained Turkish music to him. 

Isn't Mozart a rich man?

Of course not! Musicians of that time would starve if the king didn't support them! That's why he is in Vienna.

***

The only thing he was inspired by was the mehter marches.

At that time, diplomacy was being conducted with the Ottomans and Turkish diplomats were constantly coming to Vienna accompanied by the mehter. He naturally heard the mehter marches.

That's why there are no Turkish music maqams that we know in these works.

Only tunes from the mehter marches. 

I don't know, cymbals, agitator, nakkare sound, then the rhythms of the marches. 

These are in Mozart's compositions.

Of course, he was a classical musician, he wrote works for orchestras and in accordance with the musical knowledge of the Europe of that time. 

In fact, all he did was to convey the exuberant sounds of the mehter marches to the listener.

Now, in the light of this information, I suggest you listen to these works one more time, then you will understand what I mean.

***

This is the Middle Ages, in Europe! 

If you are a normal person, you are either a soldier, in which case you are always at war, or if you are too old to fight, then you are crawling. Maybe you are trying to make a living by selling things in the market. Or maybe you are begging on a corner.

But if you are rich, then it is different. 

Moreover, if you are around the king, you live, eat, drink and sleep! 

Who knows what parties the rich and noble were throwing back then!

Jacques Offenbach is in town, let's go see him!

Or Richard Wagner, maybe Eric Sati, Niccolò Paganini, or Georges Bizet.

No, Johann Strauss II is playing today, let's go and waltz.

I think we should wait, Johann Sebastian Bach's waltz music is more beautiful, when he comes we'll go waltzing.

I like Ludwig van Beethoven better. Waltz and waltz. Beethoven is more popular these days! Let's wait for Beethoven.

(I wonder if Beethoven also wrote a Turkish anthem? Yes, he did!)

Or let's wait for Frederic Chopin. His music calms me down. Or even Franz Schubert.

And I love Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 

He's giving a concert at the Royal Concert Hall today, he's written a new composition, the Turkish Anthem, and he's going to introduce it. Let's go and see him.

Yes, you're right, my lady, I'm tired of these all-day meals, we're always stuffing ourselves at the table. 

These meat dishes put on so much weight. I'll get gout, I'm swollen all over.

Come on, put on something nice, we'd better go and listen to some music.

***

Maybe that's how life was back then. 

Of course there was no internet! No TV, no movies! So there were no soap operas. 

It's doubtful there was even theater. 

If it wasn't for Shakespeare, maybe there wouldn't have been theater.

But there was opera!

The only entertainment back then was dance and opera, mostly dance. 

Of course, there were also mistresses, but how far would you go with mistresses!

In those days it was mostly dance parties, and when I say dance, I mean waltz!

What a boring life, isn't it?

***

Still, when it comes to music, especially polyphonic music, Europe was at the peak of art in those days.

Especially Vienna!

If ours had been able to take Vienna, maybe there would have been no classical music in Europe!

***

Anyway, the lady calls out and complains.

She says what do you know about classical music, it's always Antonio Vivaldi, the four seasons. She says, "I listen to Tchaikovsky, darling, he's a Russian composer.

I listen to Tchaikovsky, darling, the Russian composer, would I listen to anyone else? I turned up the volume because you like it too. Look, it's the Swan Lake ballet!

I love Mendelssohn! 

(I'll leave it to you to find out what Mendelssohn's famous composition is. See if you can find it!)

Love and respect to everyone from Moscow