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Mozart composed twenty-three piano concertos during the most important creative
period of his life (1773 - 1791). Prior to 1773 keyboard concertos were by no means
uncommon: Johann Sebastian Bach composed a number of works for harpsichord
and orchestra, many of which were simply arrangements of existing pieces for violin,
whilst his eldest son Carl Philipp Emmanuel so favoured the new fortepiano that he
composed over forty concertos for this instrument and wrote an admired treatise on
the art of its' playing. However Mozart was the first composer to explore the
dynamic and expressive possibilities of the fortepiano and, as Charles Rosen has
written, he made the entrance of the soloist in the first movements ‘an event, like the
arrival of a new character on the stage'.With one exception (K271) the orchestra gives
a lengthy introduction to the work, quoting a number of different themes and
preparing the listener for the entrance of the main instrument.Whilst hitherto the
keyboard was almost treated as one of the orchestra,Mozart gave it some
independence: on its entrance in his works the piano does not always make reference
to motifs already heard but is often required to develop its own themes.
To find this style took practice and it was not until the fifth numbered concerto
(K175 from 1773) that Mozart felt able to compose using his own original ideas.
Before that, at the suggestion of his father Leopold, he practiced for the genre by
arranging the solo works of other composers for keyboard and small orchestra. Some
of the first pieces to be so arranged were by Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782).
Johann Christian Bach was the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach by his second
marriage. Following his father's death in 1750 J C Bach moved to Berlin where he
was taught by his half-brother Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, who composed for and
played at the court of Frederick the Great. Whilst in Berlin, Johann Christian became
fascinated by Italian opera and he made plans to visit Italy at the earliest opportunity.
After a period in Milan he studied with Padre Martini in Bologna. J C Bach remained
in Italy until 1762 when he was invited to London and early in the following year was
appointed Queen Charlotte's music master. His operas composed for London and the
Italian stages were highly successful, resulting in his own reputation exceeding that of
his father at this time. In April 1764 the Mozart family arrived in London as part of
their European tour and Johann Christian Bach was immediately captivated by the
precocious genius of young Wolfgang. Both musicians were set in friendly
competition in public together and, in the eyes of many witnesses, the child often
beat the man with his clever improvisations.
As Johann Christian Bach had developed an interest in Italian opera whilst staying
with his elder half brother, so it is likely that Mozart's liking for opera was
engendered whilst staying in London, then a Mecca for lovers of opera.
Johann Christian Bach's music is an amiable mixture of both German baroque and
the sunnier and less contrapuntal Italian styles. He composed in a manner known as
galant, described by John Jenkins in his Mozart and the English Connection (1998) as
‘graceful, courtly and uncomplicated'. In 1768 he was one of the first musicians in
England to play the fortepiano in public and he almost certainly appreciated the
dynamic and expressive capabilities of this instrument as opposed to the somewhat
dry and monotonous tones of the harpsichord. Indeed the pieces here arranged by
Mozart were advertised upon publication in 1765 to be played on either harpsichord
or fortepiano.
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