The second of Mozarts two fantasies for large mechanical organ, the Fantasy in F minor KV 608, is one of his greatest instrumental works. It was commissioned in 1790 by Count Joseph Deym von Stritez and composed in Vienna on 3 March 1791. Deym had recently returned to the city after years living abroad in exile, his sentence for a fatal duel. On 23 March he launched a lavished exposition -- the Muller Exhibition Hall and Mausoleum -- to honor Field Marshal Laudon (a recently deceased Austrian war hero.) One of the highlights of the exhibition was a mechanical organ which every week performed music by Mozart. Mozart composed this music for a machine that could play any combination of notes at any speed. In a letter to his wife, Mozart confided that he hated the sound of the small pipes of Count Deyms instrument. But the primitive sonorous resources of this instrument did not deter Mozart from envisioning a colossal creation. Thanks Ela... youtu.be/xmLrT8lB5QA
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:04:04 +0000