Rock Me Amadeus
CLaS Assessment Level: 3.2
Rock Me Amadeus is a piece that brings Mozart’s 40th symphony into a whole new dimension using contemporary rock rhythms and harmonies. The original story line touches on some of Mozart’s struggles as a great composer trapped in a lifestyle with little freedom to create the music he truly longed to write. He died at a very young age but still managed to produce some of our most beloved classical music selections. This piece could also serve as a reference point for a historical study of the life of Mozart.
Type of ensemble: This SAB arrangement is a unique adaptation of Mozart’s 40th symphony with some added original content to keep it moving. The melodic line is shared with all parts but there are sections where all three add to the power of this selection.
Technique teaching points: This piece requires a great deal of energy to make it through to the end. The challenge will be to keep the energy flowing and not let it sag in the middle of the piece.
Story line: Much of Mozart’s life was filled with success and lavish life styles, however there were times where he felt used, trapped and generally undervalued. The lyrics touch on some of these more somber times in his life.
Program placement: This would be a great selection to finish your concert with a powerful piece. There is a lot of movement, dynamic contrast and drama in the ending.
Product Includes: Sheet Music * Lyric Sheet * Soprano MP3 * Alto MP3* Baritone MP3 * Piano MP3 * FullMix MP3
Experimental Workshop | Rock Me Amadeus
Below is a clip from our recording session with David Steadman, Stephanie Anne Johnson and Stephanie Walbon. This was a really fun experiment to do and proved the power of having part predominant recordings to hand. The amount of time saved trying to learn the piece is undeniable.
For the experiment, thingers received ONLY an MP3 version of their individual part predominant recording to memorize the day before coming to the session.. They were asked to listen to it several times on their SmartPhones, when driving or whenever they had a moment. We wanted them to just get familiar with their own part. The next day at the session they then given the sheet music to Rock Me Amadeus. Having already listened extensively to the recordings, they were already comfortable with their parts.
