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Apart from the very early transcriptions of the first four Piano Concertos and the
keyboard (harpsichord) transcriptions of the three K107 Concertos,Mozart's works
for Piano and Orchestra can be considered to be works of maturity.With the Violin
Concertos behind him and the great Symphonies still to come, the central twelve
Concertos of the years 1784 to 1786 contain some of Mozart's greatest masterpieces
in any form. The present disc contains three Concertos that represent very different
aspects of these Concertos from the simplicity of the F major Salzburg Concerto,
through the difficulties of the B flat major Concerto from that year of 1784 and up to
the undeniable masterpiece of the A major (K 488) Concerto, arguably the finest of
all the Concertos.
Having composed his E flat major Concerto (K 449) for his pupil Barbara Ployer,
Mozart set about writing both a second Concerto for her (K 453) and two others
exclusively for himself. The whole project took no more than two months and
Mozart was keen to add some rather more difficult and virtuoso passages for his own
performance, particularly so in the B flat major Concerto (K 450), dated 15th March
1784 which not only is intent on stretching its solo performer but is also scored for a
relatively large orchestra.
These difficulties are immediately apparent in the opening Allegro which is a
surprisingly good natured and lively piece, despite its frequent recourse to the minor
key. This is followed by an E flat Andante which consists of no more than a theme
with two variations and a Coda but shows Mozart's genius at portraying a simple
dialogue between soloist and orchestra as well as a series of lovely ornementations on
the piano theme. The final Allegro, in six/eight time introduces a hunting motif
which appears again at its conclusion and contains one of Mozart's own virtuoso
Cadenzas.
Taking its place as the first of a series of three Concertos beginning in December
1782, the F major Concerto (K 413) is scored simply for strings and wind and is also
available (together with its two successors) in an arrangement made by the composer
himself for Piano and string Quartet. This is the Mozart of geniality rather than the
Mozart of genius, the composer appealing not only to the cognoscenti, but also to the
general public although it is on record too that the Concerto made a distinct appeal
to a person no less than the Emperor as well as providing a substantial income for the
Academy. In the usual three movement form, the Concerto opens somewhat
unusually with an Allegro in triple time before leading to an amiable, if hardly
profound Larghetto, more of an Intermezzo than a true slow movement. Finally the
Rondo is filled with counterpoint for those local connoisseurs and marked in "Tempo
di Minuetto".
The A major Concerto (K 488) is one of a group of three Concertos written in the
winter of 1785-1786 at the same time that Mozart was working on "The Marriage of
Figaro". Although these are Concertos where Mozart is stretching his audience to an
unprecedented degree, the A major work begins simply enough. The scoring lacks
trumpets and timpani but still has a darker side to it that permeates the whole work.
Unusually too, the Cadenza in this movement is incorporated in the full score. The
slow movement is an Adagio of quite unsurpassable emotion and beauty and stands
as one of the finest single movements in any composition by Mozart; it is written in
F sharp minor, the only time that Mozart used the key in any of the Concertos. That
key has been hinted at in the opening Allegro, but here it has a sense of tragedy that
can only be seen to express the most profound of sorrows. That such deep sadness
can be dispelled at all is quite amazing but the final Allegro assai manage a light
heartedness and an exuberance that are not occasionally without a backward glimpse
aimed towards a tinge of sadness beneath that apparent stream of joyous melody.
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