| This study examines humor in the piano sonatas of Mozart and its sources in eighteen-century comic opera and dance.;Chapter I, 'Humor in General and in Music,' defines several categories of humor and explores the musical conditions that arouse our sense of humor.;Chapter II, 'The Classical Era and Style,' discusses the prevalence of humor in the music of the Classical period. This chapter examines the influence of the Enlightenment and dramatic changes in social circumstances on music, the evolution of Classical-period music from comic opera and dance, and the theory of high and low styles of humor.;Chapter III examines Mozart's humorous personal character and his representative comical composition, Ein Musikalisher Spass (A Musical Joke), K.522.;Chapter IV examines humorous instances in Mozart's piano sonatas in detail. Almost every movement possesses humorous elements, but Mozart's humor glitters especially in third movements. Representative passages are discussed as examples of the categories of mirth, wit, and the comic.;Chapter V discusses whole movements in order to comprehend how various types of humor contribute to the character of a piece. The final movements of K.279 and K.311, representing relatively different types of humor, are examined.;In Mozart's piano sonatas, the humor is subtle and not easy to recognize. This study shows that sophisticated witticism is more typical of the composer than obvious comical humor. |
