Viennese Classic

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W. A. Mozart (1756 Salzburg - 1791 Vienna) used thethree most popular dances of his day for the ball scene in Don Giovanni (1787): Menuet, Contredance und Deutscher. What makes the scene so special is that these are three dances representing different strata of society and the hierarchy of the classes, but he presents them all together. Even Don Giovanni's words that open the ball Š aperto a tutti quanti, viva la libert…! (it's open to all, long live freedom!) require us to consider its sociological meaning - dance music as the reflection of an ideal society. On the other hand, the polymetrical structure (the various dances with different meters are all played at the same time) creates chaos, which may even forbode Don Giovanniy's tragic end. On top of that musical elements of one dance are used in other dances as a kind of common idea. (E. Stadler)