Article archive / February 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 6. Source pages: 10.
Mozart composed only one sonata in a minor key, the Piano Sonata in A Minor K.310, in 1778. He had been traveling that year with his adored mother, in Paris. Depression plagued Mozart in bouts all through his life. In 1778, depression had crippled him, leaving him unable to compose. His mother died during that trip. His father, ever harsh and critical, blamed him for her death.
From the ashes of that traumatic year, Mozart wrote the brooding Piano Sonata in A Minor. Marked by its gravity and departure from his usual style, the piece represents Mozart’s turning tragedy into triumph. Composers employ a minor key to embody suffering, leaving the listener with the sound of crying and keening in the ear. The composition expresses Mozart’s emotional pain and brings the pain to its conclusion in the work.
The A Minor Piano Sonata, K. 310 will be performed in New Orleans on Sunday, February 28, 2010, at the Trinity Episcopal Church, by concert pianist, Louis Nagel, DMA, a Steinway Artist and Professor of Piano at University of Michigan’s School of Music. The concert is part of Melodies of the Mind: A Psychoanalytic and Musical Perspective on Mozart in 1778, a lecture-recital program developed by Julie Jaffee Nagel, PhD, a psychologist /psychoanalyst, Dr. Nagel’s wife, and pianist in her own right.
Julie Jaffe Nagel earned her PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan. She holds degrees in music from The Julliard School and degrees in social work, as well. Her credentials also include certification by the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) in psychoanalysis. She studies the intersection of music and psychoanalysis, exploring music as the language of emotion. She has earned multiple awards and grants for her work.
Funding for Melodies of the Mind: A Psychoanalytic and Musical Perspective on Mozart in 1778 comes from a grant from the APsaA and from the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center’s Ernest O. Svenson, MD, Fund for Psychoanalysis and the Arts. The sponsors, Trinity Artist Series and the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center, invite all to attend. The recital and lecture take place from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, followed by a complimentary wine and cheese reception. The program is free and open to the public.
Again, it will be Sunday, February 28, 5:00pm to 6:30pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Avenue, New Orleans. Free.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.