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Frame from Amadeus - "There are simply too many notes." Plays via YouTube's privacy-enhanced embed

Amadeus - "There are simply too many notes."

prestoagitato2
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Cited on HN 4 times, 2015–2022, never outright recommended score 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN quotes the scene humorously and analogically, for example about extremely dense Black MIDI music or whether melodies are scarce.

A 2-minute scene from the film Amadeus in which the emperor says Mozart's opera has simply too many notes and Mozart asks which few to cut.

3 citations · 1 jokes · Other

4 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@baldfat Nov 2015 Cites it
on HN thread The Impossible Music of Black MIDI (2013)
Read more
I immediately thought of a quote from the movie Amadaus (About Mozart) EMPEROR: Of course I do. It's very good. Of course now and then - just now and then - it gets a touch elaborate. MOZART: What do you mean, Sire? EMPEROR: Well, I mean occasionally it seems to have, how shall one say? [he stops in difficulty; turning to Orsini-Rosenberg] How shall one say, Director? ORSINI-ROSENBERG: Too many notes, Your Majesty? EMPEROR: Exactly. Very well put. Too many notes. MOZART: I don't understand. There are just as many notes, Majesty, as are required. Neither more nor less. EMPEROR: My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening. I think I'm right in saying that, aren't I, Court Composer? SALIERI: Yes! yes! er, on the whole, yes, Majesty. MOZART: But this is absurd! [this video] This certainly is an interesting area to explorer musically. Want can we do with a piano if we had more than ten notes to play at a time. Right now it is HOW many can we play and still sound musical from the samples I saw.
Movie quote about too many notes, applied to Black MIDI.
@baldfat Nov 2015 Cites it
on HN thread The Impossible Music of Black MIDI
Read more
I immediately thought of a quote from the movie Amadaus (About Mozart) EMPEROR: Of course I do. It's very good. Of course now and then - just now and then - it gets a touch elaborate. MOZART: What do you mean, Sire? EMPEROR: Well, I mean occasionally it seems to have, how shall one say? [he stops in difficulty; turning to Orsini-Rosenberg] How shall one say, Director? ORSINI-ROSENBERG: Too many notes, Your Majesty? EMPEROR: Exactly. Very well put. Too many notes. MOZART: I don't understand. There are just as many notes, Majesty, as are required. Neither more nor less. EMPEROR: My dear fellow, there are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear in the course of an evening. I think I'm right in saying that, aren't I, Court Composer? SALIERI: Yes! yes! er, on the whole, yes, Majesty. MOZART: But this is absurd! [this video] This certainly is an interesting area to explorer musically. Want can we do with a piano if we had more than ten notes to play at a time. Right now it is HOW many can we play and still sound musical from the samples I saw.
Movie quote about too many notes, applied to Black MIDI.
@hilbert42 May 2022 Cites it
on HN thread How many melodies are there? (2014)
There's never been any shortage of melodies, rather the problem is and has always been whether one has the talent to arrange the notes: [this video] ?
Uses the Amadeus scene to argue talent is arranging notes.

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