I am making these midi files (the complete Mozart piano sonatas) available now
(rather than later) because I have reached a point of diminishing returns in
their editing. That is, theoretically the pieces can always come closer still
to the way I think they ought to be interpreted--but not by so much that it
justifies my spending all that much more effort on it. Although it was fun
while it lasted, it's time to work on something else now. 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright (P) 1998 Mr. S. D. Rodrian 

These MIDI files must not be regarded as the usual mere 'photocopies' of
the original manuscripts which most of the MIDIs one finds on the WWW are:
Although any transcription of Mozart's music is by definition in the 
Public Domain, these 'interpretations' ARE copyrighted as performances
(something which is normally not the case with those MIDIs which are simply
faithful verbatim 'photocopies' --sequences-- of the original musical scores):
This music may not be reproduced by any means without the expressed written
permission of S. D. Rodrian... with the one exception that these Midi files
may be freely distributed through the WWW as long as they are not modified in
any way.

                    * * * 

I don't know whether these pieces are the easiest things in the world to
learn, or the most difficult to play in the entire musical universe--but that
will surely always be the ambivalent nature of these miraculously beautiful
piano sonatas. I recall Glenn Gould tossing off a couple of the fast movements
quite admirably, but for some reasons he always seemed to get overly-mystical
with the slow movements. My own interpretations are always more pianoforte
(than fortepiano), and, as with most of my interpretations, really... as free
from dynamic eccentricities as I can manage them (I am after an ideal
performance of these supreme masterpieces unencumbered by the technical
limitations of any given player), so a very strictly-observed tempo is always
the guiding light with me: You may criticize with some historical
justification my use of the sustain pedal, but I am certainly NOT trying to
create definitive performances--there are hundreds of other interpretations
out there, and mine is merely unique with me (not with the world). 

Yes, I use the sustain pedal a lot (but, I'm not sure Mozart would not have
done the same had the 'pianos' of his earliest days been the grands of
Beethoven's final days). 

Finally, if there's one individual I'd clone exclusively for his/her genetic
talents... it would be Mozart--Bach and Beethoven clones might choose to go
into science or literature the second time around, but a Mozart clone would
probably be hitting the keyboard before he could walk: This is what musicians
mean when they tout him as the most natural musician who ever lived. The great
tragedy is that he died so young. Had he lived another twenty or thirty years
... it's only a matter of what would he not have done! 

FILES:

R-M-PS01.MID ... Mozart PS No.1 in CM, K.279 (189d) 

Although not really Mozart's first piano sonata, it is the earliest that
survives. The opening Allegro is a rather dispassionate exercise; although
it's still a very good example of that gracefulness for its own sake which
the period's (over reliance on grace notes?) produced in sometimes quite
disgraceful overabundance. In contrast to this, the Andante is a sober,
almost bittersweet moment of personal reflection. The concluding Allegro is
unstinting in its enthusiasm throughout, and certainly already hints at a
master's self-confidence, albeit this sonata was written by a nineteen
year-old.

R-M-PS02.MID ... Mozart PS No.2 in FM, K.280 (189e) 

The opening Allegro assai here is much more clearly mature in its rich and
elaborate structure. But if anyone doubt the profound depths of emotion a
young Mozart might have been capable of even at this early date, one hearing
of the {sic} fabulously soaring and lyrical Adagio of this sonata must
certainly dispel all such prejudices; this is a truly poetic creation. And
yet, as serious as the 2nd movement is, the concluding Presto is that much
lighter a statement--almost an 'apology' from Mozart for having importuned
upon his listeners with the personal stains of the middle movement. 

R-M-PS03.MID ... Mozart PS No.3 in BfM, K.281 (189f) 

The opening Allegro is a dancing, carefree romp; children at their horseplay.
In contrast, the Andante amoroso is a stately dance of trees with the breeze
like nobler nobles than mere aristocrats at their ball. The Rondo-Allegro
meanwhile is so typically what the tradition has made Mozart's that it would
be unimaginable that another composer would have ever come up with such a
sportive little piece.

R-M-PS04.MID ... Mozart PS No.4 in EfM, K.282 (189g) 

The opening Adagio is a delicate and considered statement with all the feeling
of a fishing trip to an old favorite stream. The two menuettos of the middle
movement are nothing short of melting ice-cream clouds over a candyland of
startlingly brilliant hues, and clearly show Mozart's humor. The concluding
Allegro is an exercise in sheer virtuosity. 

R-M-PS05.MID ... Mozart PS No.5 in GM, K.283 (189h) 

While the opening Allegro is almost a dispassionate and formal musical study,
the Andante is a very measured stroll through bittersweet old memories. The
sonata concludes with the very brilliant celebration of the Presto. 

R-M-PS06.MID ... Mozart PS No.6 in DM, K.284 (205b) Durnitz - 

The Allegro is a deliciously brilliant composition of the fully self-confident
musician Mozart was even in his twenties). The Rondeau en Polonaise --Andante
could easily be a hectic portrait of some aristocratic household. While the
concluding Theme with variations that round up this sonata are nothing short
of extraordinary in the way they build their range of emotional exploration
from one variation to the next... from the delightfully playful to the
grandiose, to the sneaky, to the utterly wild. 

R-M-PS07.MID ... Mozart PS No.7 in CM, K.309 (284b) 

The Allegro con spirito brims with heroic colors, like a stallion galloping
over the field of victory... even though this particular stallion, being
Mozart's, doesn't at all mind doing a little playful dance here & there. The
Andante un poco adagio, on the other hand, could easily be a fluffy puppy
discovering the new house and family he's just moved in with. The concluding
Rondo --Allegretto grazioso is as magnificent a frisky Rondo as Mozart was
ever to write.

R-M-PS08.MID ... Mozart PS No.8 in DM, K.311 (284c) 

The Allegro con spirito here is not especially spectacular except musically
(as opposed to emotionally). The Andante con espressione is notable for the
masterful integration of its ornaments--something which makes this movement
one of the most graceful Mozart ever composed. The concluding Rondo --Allegro
is a breath of fresh air right out of that sort of celebration of life we
always seem to associate with the countryside. 

R-M-PS09.MID ... Mozart PS No.9 in am, K.310 (300d) 

The Allegro maestoso is one of Mozart's most Beethoven-like works; at least,
in the sense of its unbridled intensity. The Andante cantabile con
espressione is an early evening stroll past hauntingly familiar grounds. The
concluding Presto must have also presented quite a powerful model for the
young Beethoven to shoot at.

R-M-PS10.MID ... Mozart PS No.10 in CM, K.330 (300h) 

The Allegro moderato is a familiar workhorse for most Mozart students; and
deservedly so, because of its untiringly always fresh spirits-lighting
enthusiasm and many opportunities to show off a mastered technique. The
Allegro cantabile is as touching and beautiful as anyone could have ever
hoped to imagine. The concluding Allegretto is pure cotton candy... all
dressed up in Mozart's familiar kind of genius.

R-M-PS11.MID ... Mozart PS No.11 in AM, K.331 (300i) 

The Theme (andante grazioso) and variations are filled throughout with a
shimmering bright spirit of Christmas lights & decorations. The Menuetto
makes your head spin with its tipsy abandon. And the final Alla Turca
--Allegretto is one of Mozart's most well-known pieces, endlessly spinning
sweeping staircases over which the player's fingers dance charmingly from one
grand ball to another... finally to end up in a fabulous frenzy of unbridled
rejoicing.

R-M-PS12.MID ... Mozart PS No.12 in FM, K.332 (300k) 

The Allegro is somewhat unconventional for its time, and would fit in quite
nicely with middle Beethoven. The Adagio compliments the previous movement
with a more subjective sweep, as if it were a very engaging voyage of self-
exploration... that, unfortunately, almost always seem to prompt players to
take it too adagio. Well, if Mozart's music is so universally loved it is in
no small measure due to the joy embodied in pieces like the festive (sonata
form) Allegretto grazioso.

R-M-PS13.MID ... Mozart PS No.13 in BfM, K.333 (315c) 

Bach-like for its sheer concentration, the opening  Allegro is music first
and last, first to last, as if Mozart were trying to distance his personality
from his art. The mood of personal detachment spills over into the ensuing
Andante cantabile, which sweeps along with an almost graceful disdain--all
the more eccentric because of the hints if gives us throughout of the tragic.
Perhaps the above makes the uninhibitedly coy Allegro grazioso inevitable
--this is the Mozart of legend.

R-M-PS14.MID ... Mozart PS No.14 in cm, K.457 (457) 

This Allegro is a serious work imbued with the spirit of a determined soul
captured in the middle of its quest--not unlike the sort of thing Beethoven
would become famous for many years later. The Adagio is a leisurely stroll
through a wooded park under the blessing of shade trees and cooling breezes,
around fish-stocked pools and grassy clearings where butterflies flutter
aimlessly here & there watched over by squirrels frolicking up and down tree
trunks. The concluding Rondo must have haunted Beethoven, as it is certainly
reminiscent of him.

R-M-PS15.MID ... Mozart PS No.15 in FM, K.533 (533) plus the Rondo K.494
                 (494) June 10'1789 

Was this sonata (K.533) really left unfinished by Mozart? In any case it's
usually complimented with the K.494 Rondo for its ending. The opening Allegro
is a brilliant display off virtuosity with echoes of complimentary
counterpoint. The Andante is such a heartfelt song that it could have easily
flowed from the most Romantic pen of any of the major mid-1800 composers (and
it leads one to speculate whether Mozart might not have simply run out of
time before he could find a third movement worthy or following it, a la
Schubert's 8th). The Rondo (K.494) is startling here only because it follows
the great Andante, otherwise it's quite sweeping and pianistic in & of itself.

R-M-PS16.MID ... Mozart PS No.16 in FM, K. Anh135 (547a) plus 6 vars. on an
                 Allegretto in FM K.54 (547b) 

Although something of a patchwork, this sonata is still worthy of inclusion
in this wonderful cycle. The opening Allegro is almost savage in its furious
and unrelenting determination. The Rondo is a miraculous lyric which dances
infinitely on in languidly flowing high-wire lines, always threatening to
fall to a yet sadder and sadder mood... yet never quite ever really getting
off its soaringly moving lyrical eloquence. The concluding (K.54) Six
variations on an Allegretto (which is nothing short of the harbinger of all
sweet delights to follow) are delicate architectures ranging from refined
aristocratic masquerades to peasant dances full of unbridled celebration. 

R-M-PS17.MID ... Mozart PS No.17 in CM, K.545 (545) 

I suspect it's impossible to find a more Mozartian piece than the opening
Allegro of this sonata (written "for beginners"). It's a never-quitting
contrast between sweet, delicious ecstasy and stormy hints that always seem
to dissolve up into higher forms of playfulness. The Andante is a reworking
of the (Anhong 135) Rondo (see the previous sonata), finally brought to its
full potential. The concluding Rondo--Allegretto is a little jewel, a present
from Mozart full of coyness and of that almost child-like playfulness he has
become so infamous for to us all.

R-M-PS18.MID ... Mozart PS No.18 in BfM, K.570 (570) 

One of the most enjoyable bits of fluff Mozart ever composed the opening
Allegro is like a radiant heavenly sphere floating above us off its own sheen.
This is Mozart at his most uncomplicated and masterful--if genius is the
ability to grasp the complex and reduce it to its simplest truth, then Mozart
indeed proves himself a genius indeed here. The Andante is like a midnight
full of tree limbs threatening a grab at you where you maneuver your way to
safety whistling in the dark--one can catch glimpses of something
unsuspectedly spooky or tragic behind every noble tree. This music flows so
naturally from the imagination it's truly awe-inspiring. The concluding Rondo
--Allegretto is a romp through the playground that was Mozart's musical
imagination.

R-M-PS19.MID ... Mozart PS No.19 in DM, K.576 (576) 

Military in spirit (this sonata is thought to have been composed for the
Princess of Prussia), and quite passionate, the opening Allegro is almost
heroic in its cavorting galloping through sweetly contrapuntual trysts;
although there might be more of the high-horse than of the war-like steed
here. The Adagio is even more emotionally-gripped still; a bittersweet
reminder, perhaps, that had he not died as young as he did, this great genius
would have surely become a formidable rival, foil, and inspiration to
Beethoven and his contemporaries. (as it is, one will always wonder in sorrow
what a Mozart Symphony No.60 might have been like--and what a Beethoven's 9th,
had he heard it). The concluding  Rondo only reinforces this forlorn regret. 

S D Rodrian 
626 Lalor Street
Trenton NJ 08611
SDRodrian@aol.com
You can visit me at   http://members.aol.com/SDRodrian

PLEASE NOTE:  When I was preparing these pieces on my computer I used a
special group of setting and one commercial sound card in particular:
The AWE64 card. 

These are the settings I used (if you wish to recreate the sound I was
hearing while preparing these piano sonatas): 

Windows 98 audio controls (open the little speaker icon in the tray):
Click on the lever you wish to work on--The following values will make
the settings more exactly like mine: 

MIDI BALANCE:
Push the lever all the way down then PAGE-UP 3 times 

VOLUME CONTROL:
Push the lever all the way down then PAGE-UP 2 times
               followed by 16 DOWN ARROWs 

Then, click on the ADVANCED button: 

BASS: PAGE-DOWN to "high" followed by 2 PAGE-UPs 

TREBLE: PAGE-DOWN to the highest setting 

For the ADVANCED AUDIO PROPERTIES (under PERFORMANCE): 

Choose FULL AND BEST for WAVE IN 

For The AWE CONTROL: 

REVERBERATION: PLATE (or ROOM 3 is also acceptable) 

CHORUSING: SHORT DELAY 

EFFECT:    TREBLE = +12dB 
             BASS = +8dB 

NOTE that these settings are for the piano font only... Other instrument
fonts will sound weird with these settings and it's best to avoid ANY
Reverberation and Chorusing with them. 

As a point of departure you must understand that I also use the SoundBlaster
AWE32 card (on a P.120 PC): This card comes with digitally sampled
instruments. [I use Master Tracks Pro.] 

On other software (provided the hardware is capable of digitally-sampled
instruments), if you don't know how to avoid the FM banks of computer-
generated instruments try the Midi Mapper (which might have been properly
programmed with your card's wave table instruments). 

These files are set to a minimum 'stereo' pan. The following set of
'controls'instructions are for the AWE32 card, but users of other cards
may deduce the effect I'm after from them... 

for the CREATIVE MIXER: set the Treble, Bass, and MIDI Volumes to
their loudest possible settings. Then set MAIN VOLUME to play at your own
particular comfort level. NOTE that the note 'velocities' in these files
are set to the loudest possible setting (whenever and wherever possible).
Set all right/left 'balances' as close as possible to the center. 

for the AWE32 CONTROL PANEL: Use the Qsound (not Reverb and Chorus). 

for the BOB (break-out box): Make sure all the controller 'boxes' (under the
M's) are unchecked... Save this setting to the default.bob file if need be:
When any box is 'checked' it interferes with the controller information sent
by the midi files for proper playback...
