Ulvi Yurtsever wrote:

>My view is that Mozart was a wildly uneven composer, and this remains true
>in late Mozart...

I never thought of Mozart as a "wildly uneven." But, I'm thinking of it
now, and I can't agree.  Although there are of course differences in the
profundity of his works and the quality of his development of themes, I
think that early or late Mozart shows a composer who always had a gift for
melodies of lasting value.  Actually, I'd consider Haydn the more variable
of the two.

Ulvi also stated that Haydn's piano sonatas were of "generally higher
quality" than Mozart's.  I do agree that Haydn's best piano sonatas are
better.  Here again, though, I'd say that Mozart's piano sonatas are more
consistently excellent than Haydn's.

Summing up, Mozart's output was more even than that of most composers
including Haydn.  Further, although Mozart's early sonatas do not compare
well to the later ones, they are still mighly fine unless you are looking
for the insight of life experiences.  I don't play the early sonatas when
I'm looking for "blood" or trying to boost myself up for a pressured day.
In those circumstances, I like to listen to pieces like Beethoven's Choral
Fantasy or the Prelude from Die Meistersinger to get a jump start.  I could
use one right now.

Don Satz
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