"Mozart led a hectic life — he was basically an overcommitted freelancer,” says Josh Davidoff, program coordinator at 92nd Street Y in New York. Davidoff, who is from Evanston and a former WFMT intern, recently provided the voiceover for a new 92Y animated video titled 'How Mozart Freestyled His Way into the Emperor’s Good Graces.'
Davidoff collaborated with motion graphics editor David Fuchs and the 92Y video team to tell the story of how Mozart procrastinated in composing the piano part for his Violin Sonata No. 32 in B-flat major, K.454, a work written for the virtuoso Regina Strinasacchi. “I was looking for a story that felt accessible to a broad audience, regardless of their experience with classical music,” notes Davidoff. “Who among us can’t identify with that feeling of desperation, pulling an all-nighter before the all-important presentation?”
Davidoff continues, “What’s even more fascinating is when that procrastination-induced pressure leads to some of our best work.” And as the K.454 sonata still serves as a staple of the violin repertoire, perhaps Mozart did show that procrastination can, in fact, work!
