Graycap23 said:

Can Prince read music? Or write his own down?

Graycap23 said:

Actually, he could.

There is an incident where he performed an ensemble aria from one of his operas (I can't remember now which one) with several people at home. The info probably can be found in Wolfgang Hildesheimer's excellent book "Mozart".

Could Prince play one of Mozart's piano concertos on the level of an internationally known piano player like, for instance, Alfred Brendel, Murray Prahia or Mitsuko Uchida?

I doubt it. Prince is very, very good at the piano, especially when it comes to accompanying himself, but his technique isn't good enough to play a lot of the tricky pieces from classical music (that's the difference between classical training and being self-taught). Just listen to "The Dance": Prince's piano work on that track is beautiful, no doubt, but the fast runs show a tiny little bit of technical abilities missing. It doesn't matter though, because he doesn't need it for the music he records.

Could Prince play the violin on Mozart's level (i.e. playing one of the Mozart concertos)? I don't know, but he would have to practise like an idiot. I've played the violin myself for 10 years, but Mozart's 4th concerto still was too difficult for me.

Can Prince write orchestral music? I doubt it, why would he hire Claire Fischer if otherwise?

Honestly, folks, this is a pointless comparison. Both excellent musicians, but in two completely different genres. Mozart has been a genius you'll probably only find every x centuries (in average). Why should we try to compare anyone to him?

Genesia said:

Yeah. Bloody racists. Anyway what about Yngwie Malmsteen?

EmancipationLover said:

Agreed.

It's basically impossible to compare the two, as they are two completely different types of artists.

But I'll say Prince is more comparable as an artist to Mozart than he is to Madonna.

iloveannie said:

You could forward your complaint to Mr Delmonte, if he says no...then send it to Granny Smith.

Sdldawn said:

lol that post was ultra win

Isn't it true that Prince can't even read or write music? He's hardly in the league of Mozart.

The only true comparison U could make between the 2, is their ability to produce vast volumes of music in minimal time!
As brilliant as Mozart was in comparison to many! I don't think he was all that inovative! Where Prince can be!
Four Composers stand out as innovators copared to their contemporaries in their respective era. Bach. Beethoven. Wagner & Puccini all brought something new to their respective audience.
Prince brought a new sound to the '80's & '90's.
So really! No comparison!

I love Prince, but...man...Mozart was freakin' MOZART!

Have you HEARD The Requiem? The Magic Flute?

Queen of the Night Aria: http://www.youtube.com/wa...qBW_9OjhlA

::
[Edited 2/3/09 6:15am]

bleutuna said:

My favorite Mozart aria bar none.

there is no use in comparing both. Mozart was a classical artist, Prince is a popular artist. I never liked comparisons, but if you have to compare Prince to someone, it makes more sense to compare him with Mc Cartney, Dylan, Wonder, Hendrix, etc.

LazarusHeart said:

YES!!!
I hope that this ends the silly comparison between Prince and Mozart. I love Prince, but he is not in Mozart's league.

kenlacam said:

Doesn't that work in both directions?

GustavoRibas said:

Wrong about Mozart being only a "classical artist." Classical is a relatively recent term used to identify composers by era (as opposed to Romantic, Neo-classical, or Contemporary composers, for example).

At the time he was writing music, Mozart was very much a popular artist. His operatic works, in particular, were a huge part of the popular music offering of the day.

Genesia said:

absolutely, and as his music became more complex, he lost favor among the people--just as happened to prince

Moreover, people point to him writing before he was ten. But if you listen to Mozart's early stuff it's really simple. Impressive for a kid, yes, but composing & counterpoint can be more like learning math than divine inspiration (as Mozart was no doubt stuck with many times).

There is a "correct" way to compose, Mozart was taught and took to it at a young age. But it's no different than any young child learning a skill. Mozart was amazing because he used the skill and eventually made amazing music with it, but just to compose is not amazing in and of itself.

NDRU said:

Mozart also had his own version of Warner Brothers.

Shit hop vs. Mozart would be a fairer comparison. Both are equally as slow and dull. At least Mozart was talented though.

Genesia said:

On the other hand, one shouldn't make the mistake to assume that the relation of "popular music" and "art music" (= the gap) we know today is identical to the situation of the 18th century. There were times when people (well, at least some) were entertained by "art music". Like Bach's or Mozart's concertos.

vainandy said:

Man, you should listen to "The Abduction from the Seraglio", for instance. If that is slow and dull, then I'm Kanye West.
[Edited 2/3/09 14:54pm]

EmancipationLover said:

Do you mean "Abduction from the Seraglio"?

Genesia said:

Ooops, mixing up German with English. Thanks - and edited!

EmancipationLover said:

I think that's what genesia was saying. Back then it wasn't "classical music," it was music.

Mozart did operas that were funny & entertaining, and in fact the whole classical style is based on folk music and was considered simpler & more accessible than the stuff Bach had been doing.

NDRU said:

Exactly. Thank you.

NDRU said:

Not denying a lot of what you say. I just wanted to give a little heads-up that it's not too recommendable imo to see Mozart as some sort of 18th century pop musician when the musical categories at that time were completely different than they are today. I won't rule out though that we all are basically saying the same thing.

Maybe we should try to compare Prince to Johann Strauss...

Prince is MozArt

IMMORTAL1 said:

as mozart was music...

or reincarnated...

doriangrayville said:

Bullseye

IMMORTAL1 said:

yes s
[Edited 2/4/09 4:02am]

doriangrayville said:

Nervous already?