Der Spiegel

The Mirror Duet

Der Spiegel attributed to Mozart

Recommended by HAERIN

"Even if one knows nothing about classical music, [they] will definitely recognize that Mozart is an absolute musical genius. This is one of his many of pieces that shows just how incredible his talents were. The Mirror Duet is called that because the music score is LITERALLY a mirror image of itself. (Take a look at the sheet music, and you will see!) This piece is also a living proof of how mathematical music is as well. Anyway, I think you will love doing more research on it!"

This piece is so sick! I could talk about the light, clear melody, but that's really not what this piece is about. Sure, it sounds nice and pretty, but wouldn't you rather hear what makes it unique?

Here's the score for anyone who reads sheet music:

It's like a musical palindrome. Except I guess it's not really the same backwards and forwards. It's more of a musical ambigram, since it can be read in more than one direction.

Anyway, the duet is often called Table Music for Two. The idea is that the sheet music sits on a table between two violinists, as you can see in the video above. The musicians each play the piece starting from a different end. That's why you can see the upside-down text (Allegro) in the bottom right corner - it serves as the top left corner for one of the performers.

This piece kind of blows my mind. I followed along with the sheet music (from both ends), and it's totally legit. I'm feeling really inspired to take up music theory right now. Good thing I'm taking that class during the fall semester.

This is why Mozart makes babies smarter.

Overview:

Genre:
Classical

Verdict:
Truly delightful