Mozart - Concert Aria For Soprano "Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!" K.418

The world of 18th century opera was a markedly different environment in many ways than the modern day opera house. With no copyright protection for composers, many of them supervised the first productions of their operas to earn some money off of their music before it was pirated by other opera companies and publishers. But the best singers back then, like the best singers now, were the stars of the show. Most opera composers wrote music with specific singers in mind, and the singers themselves would take many liberties with the music for the sake of displaying particular vocal strong points, so much that the original music could get lost in a sea of added ornamentation, runs and long held notes.

Composers could be part of this cavalier attitude towards opera as well. A custom of the time was for composers to write arias for specific singers that were called insertion arias because they would be inserted in place of an original aria written by the opera's composer. In Mozart's time the use of insertion arias had been going on for so long that they had become a tradition, and many of Mozart's concert arias were originally written as insertion arias.  Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! (Let me explain, oh God!) K.418 is just such an insertion aria. Mozart wrote it for his sister-in-law Aloysia Weber, a soprano that had a successful career on the Vienna opera stage. At one time Mozart had wanted to marry Aloysia, but he ended up marrying her sister Constanze instead.  Mozart wrote other insertion arias for Aloysia and she performed roles in some of his operas as well. She must have been a fine singer because the arias Mozart wrote for her are quite demanding.

Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio! was written to be inserted in an opera titled  Il curioso indiscreto (The Curious, Indiscreet Man) by the composer Pasquale Anfossi. The libretto was based on the book Don Quixote. The aria begins in a slow tempo with muted strings and a beautiful part for oboe that continues in duet with the soprano who sings the part of Clorinda, who is in love with a Count, who is promised in marriage to another woman named Emilia. Clorinda sings that she wishes she could explain to him why she appears not to return his love. The tempo quickens in the second part of the aria as she urges him to leave her, telling him to go to Emilia.  Mozart puts the soprano through her paces as he uses notes that span over two octaves in this effective and impressive aria.

Let me explain, oh God,
What my grief is!
But fate has condemned me
To weep and stay silent.

My heart may not pine
For the one I would like to love
Making me seem hard-hearted
And cruel.

 Ah, Count, part from me,
Run, flee
Far away from me;
Your beloved Emilia awaits you
 Don't let her languish,
She is worthy of love.

Ah, pitiless stars!
You are hostile to me.
I am lost when he stays.
Part from me, run,
Speak not of love,
Her heart is yours. 

Mozart

Mozart - Symphony No. 1 In E-flat Major, K.16

Statue of the young Mozart in London

The inception of the symphony began at the end of the Baroque era, and due to the form being taken up by many composers it became an important part of concert life by 1790. In the beginning, the symphony was an offshoot of the opera overture. In fact, many early symphonies were originally written as operatic overtures. Early symphonies had three movements with a tempo scheme of the movements fast-slow-fast. Eventually an additional movement was added, along with more flexibility of tempo and mood of the individual movements.

Not all composers wrote symphonies, but many of the famous ones did. Joseph Haydn is known for the 106 symphonies with his first being composed ca. 1759. His younger colleague Mozart wrote up to 68 symphonies (there remains debate among musicologists as to the actual number) with his first being composed in 1764, only six years after Haydn's first. The difference between these composers first symphonies begins with the difference in their ages when they wrote them; Haydn was thirty-seven, Mozart was eight! 

Mozart was already known as a wunderkind by the time he was eight, but only as a performer. Mozart first went on tour in 1762 to the courts in Munich, Vienna and Prague. A tour of Europe that began in 1764 lasted over three years and took the Mozart family to many of the capitals and courts of Europe. While on this tour, he met many of the leading composers of the day, and it was while he was in London that he met Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Despite the twenty years difference in age, they became friends and just as important to Mozart, Bach mentored him in composition. 

Bach was a very popular composer in London at the time,  so Mozart got to hear much of his music as well as play Bach's keyboard works. Leopold Mozart, the composer's father wrote:

What he had known when he left Salzburg is nothing compared with what he knows now; it defies the imagination … right now, Wolfgang is sitting at the harpsichord playing Bach’s trios.

Mozart's sister Nannerl wrote about Bach and her brother in her diary years later:

Herr Johann Christian Bach, music master of the queen, took Wolfgang between his knees. He would play a few measures; then Wolfgang would continue. In this manner they played entire sonatas. Unless you saw it with your own eyes, you would swear that just one person was playing.

Mozart plaque in London

Bach was a great influence on Mozart's developing style and talent.  So it is natural that his first attempt at a symphony would be under the older composer's direct influence, and so it was that Mozart wrote his first symphony while in London in 1764. A statue of the young Mozart and a plaque have been erected on the spot on Ebury Street.

There has been some question among scholars if the young Mozart actually wrote the symphony himself. His father was not only a composer and master musician in his own right, he knew how to promote his son. What better to show the precocity of Wolfgang than a symphony written when he was but eight years old? It is thought that Leopold assisted his son on his earliest compositions, if not actually creating the music at least writing it down on paper. So perhaps it is all an example of a proud and ambitious father. Whatever the truth of the matter, what is offered as Mozart's First Symphony is an interesting early example of the form.  The symphony is scored for two oboe, two horns, strings and continuo, and is in three movements as early symphonies were.

I. Molto allegro -  The movement opens with the notes of the E-flat major triad throughout the orchestra after which a series of whole note chords leads to a repeat of the opening and the string of whole note chords.  A section of transition leads to the second theme in B-flat major. Another transitional section leads to the repeat of the the exposition. The development begins with the first theme section in B-flat major, and then in C minor. The first theme is not repeated as a section transition continues in C minor and modulates to the home key of E-flat for the repetition of the second theme, and the movement ends.

II. Andante - The second movement is in C minor and has the theme played by the basses over a half-note accompaniment by the oboes and horns. The rest of the strings play a triplet figure throughout the movement that creates a cross rhythm of 2 versus 3.

III. Presto - The music returns to E-flat major with the first theme in regular 4-bar phrases that lasts 16 measures and then repeats. A second theme group includes a section of eight bars that travels downward chromatically from B-flat to D. The first theme returns, followed by the second theme group. A transition leads to the final repetition of the first theme which ends the symphony. 

Mozart

Mozart - Symphony No. 29 In A Major K. 201/186a

 The traditional number of symphonies attributed to Mozart is 41, but modern scholarship places the number closer to 68, as some of the earlier ones were not numbered, as well as some of the works traditionally referred to as divertimentos could be classified as symphonies. He was  about nine years old when he wrote his first symphony, and by the time he wrote his 25th symphony he was only seventeen years old. Symphony numbers 14-30 of the traditionally acknowledged symphonies were written while he was in Salzburg. It was within this group of middle symphonies that his first acknowledged masterpiece, Symphony No. 25 In G Minor was written. It was soon followed by another masterpiece, the 29th Symphony In A Major, composed in Mozart's eighteenth year, shortly after his return to Salzburg from a trip to Vienna.

Mozart made the trip to Vienna with his father to try and get an appointment at the Court there. Nothing came of the hoped for appointment, but the trip was not without value as Vienna was the capital of European music, and Mozart heard music by some of the current masters. Mozart always made the most of what he heard and absorbed influences like a sponge. By this time in his life he was an experienced composer and performer whose genius allowed him to use those influences as the building blocks to create his own voice. 

Symphony No. 29 In A Major is scored for two oboes, two horns and strings, and is in four movements:

I. Allegro moderato -  Mozart opens the movement with a downward octave interval in the first violins that is the beginning of the first theme:

This theme grows in volume and is played a second time by the violins with echoes of the theme played by the lower strings. The second theme is marked by trills and less space between the notes, in contrast to the skips of the first theme. A short thematic motif is played after the second theme which leads to transition material, and the exposition is repeated. The short  development section includes some examples of the octave skips of the first theme along with the string tremolos heard at various places in the exposition. The recapitulation revisits the two themes after which a short coda restates the first theme and the movement ends.

II. Andante -  The movement begins with the gentle warmth of muted 1st violins playing a theme in double dotted rhythm. The 2nd violins take up the theme as the 1st violins play a counter melody. The movement is in sonata form, but Mozart blends the separate pieces into a graceful whole, and a short coda ends the short movement with more volume and mutes off.

III. Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio -  The first theme of the minuet is played piano by the 1st violins with comments by the 2nd violins in dotted rhythm. The last two bars of each phrase is repeated at a louder volume and becomes part of the next phrase, a subtle playing with phrasing. The next section of the minuet extends the theme and then takes it up with the same scheme of soft and loud as before.  The trio is in E major and is not as heavily accented, after which the minuet repeats, with no coda. The movement ends with the oboes and horns up in the air as they play dotted rhythms A's by themselves.

IV. Allegro con spirito -  The symphony comes full circle as the first theme of the finale mimics the octave drop of the opening of the first movement along with string tremolos. The horns play a prominent part in the movement. The second theme is in contrast to the opening. Another short theme leads to violins playing a racing upward scale with a full stop before the section repeats.  The exposition deals with a working out of the first theme which leads to the violins once again racing upwards and coming to a full stop. The recapitulation repeats the themes and a coda parades the first theme once more before another violin scale leads to the closing chords. 

Mozart

Mozart - Don Giovanni, The Commendatore Scene

Mozart's Don Giovanni is an adaptation of the legend of the Spanish nobleman and womanizer Don Juan, that was first written about in a play dating to the middle of the 17th century in Spain. The legend was written about in poems and plays by many authors but Mozart's opera (based on a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte) is the most well-known version and has inspired other versions of the legend. Don Giovanni is part comedy, part drama, part morality play. It was premiered in Prague in 1787 and conducted by Mozart to great acclaim.  He also participated in the works premiere in Vienna the following year.

The original name of the work in Italian is Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni - The Rake Punished, or Don Juan.  Act 2, Scene 5 climaxes the work with what has been come to be known as The Commendatore Scene.  In previous action, Don Giovanni has killed the Commendatore in a sword duel after Don Giovanni was caught with the Commendatore's daughter.  Then there occurs a lot of tomfoolery, deceit, disguises and attempts at seducing other women including a woman Don Giovanni has already betrayed once, a woman named Elvira.  Giovanni and his servant Leoperello have traded clothing and Elvira thinks Leoperello is Giovanni, while Giovanni tries to seduce Elvira's maid.

In complicated twists of plot, Elvira finally discovers that Leoperello is not Giovanni when people that Giovanni has betrayed condemn him and Leoperello confesses and runs away. They vow to get revenge against Giovanni. in the meantime, Giovanni and Leoperello meet in the cemetery that the Commendatore is buried in. The statue erectged on his grave comes to life and warns Giovanni that he will no longer be laughing by morning. Leoperello is horrified, but Giovanni laughs it off and forces him to invite the statue to supper.

Don Giovanni goes home and begins a late supper when Elvira (who still loves him despite all that the Don has done to her) bursts in and begs him to repent and change his life. Don Giovanni laughs at her and she storms out of the room. Her screams are heard from outside, she runs through the room still screaming and out another door. Leoperello hides under a table in fear and refuses to answer the door. Don Giovanni opens the door and the statue of the Commendatore enters. The statue tells Giovanni to repent numerous times, but Giovanni refuses. So the statue grabs Don Giovanni and as he screams the horror of what is happening to him finally sinks in. The statue disappears and drags Don Giovanni to hell.

Despite the influence the opera had on Beethoven, he came to  criticize the subject of the opera. Writing an art work on such a licentious subject offended Beethoven's somewhat prudish sensibilities.  But the music itself must have made up for the subject matter, for Beethoven knew the work well, wrote variations on an aria from the opera and quoted motifs from it in other works. The juxtaposition of the subject matter, the many moods and the final terror of the dying Don as he is dragged to hell for his wicked ways has made Don Giovanni one of the most popular operas ever written.

The video below begins as the statue of The Commendatore comes to life:

Mozart

 

Mozart - Bassoon Concerto In B-flat Major K. 191/186e

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's only existing bassoon concerto was written in 1774 when he was eighteen years old.  He was already an experienced composer with over 25 symphonies, a dozen string quartets and a few Italian operas to his credit, but this was his first attempt at a concerto for woodwinds. Many times composers would write concertos with a specific soloist in mind, so he may have written it for one of the Salzburg orchestra's bassoonists, or possibly a rich amateur bassoonist, but there is no evidence one way or the other.

The bassoon that Mozart wrote for was much different than the modern bassoon in that there were only four or five keys on the instrument, which made some of the semitones and chromatic runs difficult to play in tune.  Mozart understood the instrument very well, as he writes most of the solo part in the singing tenor part of the instrument's range, although he does showcase the rich low notes occasionally.

The solo part is still challenging enough for the instrument that excerpts from the concerto are used as audition material for orchestral tryouts to this day.  The concerto is written for soloist, two oboes, two horns, and the usual compliment of strings. It is in three movements:

I. Allegro -  Mozart shows his mastery of sonata form in the first movement as the orchestra introduces the two themes. The first begins straight away, with the two horns heard prominently. The second theme begins seamlessly after the first and is slightly different in character, after which a short motif leads to the entrance of the soloist, who enters with a decorated version of the first theme. Rapid arpeggios, notes low in the range of the instrument and rapid repeated notes are just a few of the challenges for the soloist.  The second theme also gets expanded by the soloist. A short development section leads to a short bassoon solo before the recapitulation. A cadenza for the soloist leads to the final statement by the orchestra.

II. Andante ma Adagio - The bassoon's flexibility as a singing instrument is showcased in this movement. The unique tempo indication means at a moving pace but slowly, a nuanced instruction for the time.  The strings are muted, the soloist again plays mostly in the tenor range with a few low notes for the sake of expression.

III. Rondo: tempo di menuetto - The movement begins in the form as well as the tempo of a minuet, but when the soloist enters its clear that this is a rondo.  There are two episodes and two short repeats of the minuet before the soloist gets a chance to play the minuet. After a very short solo for the bassoon the orchestra plays the minuet once more and ends the work 

  Mozart .

Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 5 ' Turkish' , K. 219

Most often it is the keyboard that is closely identified with Mozart as a performer, the harpsichord early in his career and the piano later.  But in his travels around Europe as a child prodigy he not only played keyboard instruments but the violin as well. His father Leopold was a renown performer and teacher of the violin and Wolfgang no doubt was taught and encouraged by Leopold on the violin. Leopold was employed as court musician at the court at Salzburg, eventually reaching the position of deputy concertmaster.

Wolfgang was also a court musician at Salzburg in different capacities, including that of concertmaster, the first desk violinist and the leader of the string section of the orchestra. For Mozart to have garnered this position he had to have been more than an average violinist. It was while he was a court musician at Salzburg that he composed his five violin concertos, the only concertos for violin he wrote. Four of the concertos were written in 1775 with one other written a few years earlier. Musical historians are divided in regards to whom the concertos were written, but perhaps Mozart played them himself in an effort to impress  the new Prince of the Salzburg Court, Count Hieronymus von Colloredo.  If this was the case, it was in vain as Mozart and the new Prince eventually came to loggerheads a few years later, and when Mozart tried to resign his position the prince refused at first, but a few months later the Prince relented and sent word to Mozart by way of a lackey who at the Prince's orders, dismissed Mozart with a literal kick in the ass!

The 5th Violin Concerto in A major has 3 movements:

Leopold Mozart

I. Allegro Aperto -  Mozart begins the concerto with the themes first played by the orchestra, as was the practice in concertos of his time. The themes are deceptively simple in their first hearing. The soloist, instead of entering in the same mood and tempo as the orchestra has set plays a short section, adagio in tempo and sweeter in mood. This adagio section leads directly to the violin taking up the mood and tempo of the beginning, and the violin fills out the first theme as the initial hearing by the orchestra was but a glimpse of what was to come. The second theme with its naive-sounding repeated notes is also expanded upon by the violin. The rather short development section is followed by the recapitulation. The violin plays a cadenza before the orchestra ends the movement.

II. Adagio -  Slow and graceful music that is like a faint reminiscence to the adagio section of the first movement that sounds like an opera aria for violin and orchestra. The violin sings throughout in long melodies that slowly unwind with sighs and slight pauses that contribute to the gentleness of the music.

III - Rondo - Tempo di Minuetto - The rondo theme is stated by the violin and returns between sections in different keys:

Roughly halfway through the movement the music changes time signature from 3/4 to 2/4, increases the tempo to Allegro, and changes the key to A minor:

 The new section is an example of the 'Turkish' music that was the rage of the times. It has nothing to do with authentic Turkish music, but more like a European composer's translation of it. It was usually in the form of a march and made use of percussion instruments not found in orchestras then. As Mozart wrote this for a small court orchestra that perhaps had no access to the cymbals, rattles and drums that other composers used, the cellos and double basses are instructed in the score to strike the strings with the wood of the bow to give a percussive effect.  The music swirls and turns becoming wild and rough. This section is the source of the nickname for the concerto. After a short cadenza for the soloist the music returns to the minuet.. After hearing the previous section the return of the minuet is as startling as the transition to the Turkish music. After the restatement of the theme and some other material, the slightly altered theme returns and the concerto comes to a close with an A major arpeggio from the soloist.

When Mozart was summarily booted in the ass from Salzburg he became a freelance composer in Vienna. To earn a living he turned to writing concertos for piano and appearing as soloist in them. No one knows why he composed only five violin concertos. Some musicologists have put forth that it was part of  his breaking away from his father, among other suppositions. Whatever the reason, there are the five violin concertos written in Salzburg, with the 5th being the most popular. 

Mozart

Mozart - Piano Quartet In G Minor K. 478

When Mozart wrote this music in 1785,  quartets consisting of a violin, viola, cello and piano were somewhat of a novelty. Mozart was the first major composer to write for this combination of instruments. The music publishers of the time were always looking for new music to print for the amateur market, and a publisher in Vienna commissioned Mozart to write 3 (possibly more) piano quartets. The publisher printed the first piano quartet in G minor, but due to poor sales the publisher canceled his commission for the rest. The reason for the poor sales was that the music was too difficult for amateurs to play, and was no less difficult for listeners to be able to understand and appreciate.

The list of Mozart's compositions in a minor key is short. Two piano sonatas, one string quartet, two piano concertos, two symphonies, a string quintet and the piano quartet are works in a minor key. And of these nine works, four are in the key of G minor, Mozart's dramatic key.

The Piano Quartet in G minor is in 3 movements:

I. Allegro - Mozart begins the movement straight away with the first theme stated in unison by all 4 instruments:

The piano answers the initial statement. Once again all 4 instruments in unison play the statement, this time in a different key. The music proceeds with changes to a major key while echos of the theme are played in accompaniment. The piano gives voice to the second theme, the violin answers with its own material. After more transitional material, the exposition is repeated.  The development section begins with material related to previously heard music and weaves it into an intricate contrapuntal discussion between the instruments. The first theme is heard in a major key and the music transitions into differing keys, and after an extended development section the recapitulation begins. The music makes the obligatory key changes to the second theme as the music moves towards the coda. The opening theme is heard once again and is transformed to a dramatic end to the movement.

II. Andante - The middle movement is in marked contrast to the dark drama of the first movement as the instruments take turns in this gentle music in B-flat major, the relative major of the home key of G minor.

III. Rondeau -  In an even deeper contrast to the first movement is this music in the key of G major. The piano opens the movement with the rondo theme, all join in the second statement of the theme. The strings alternate with the piano throughout this movement, with all 4 instruments coming together to add some spice to it occasionally. Mozart adds variety by dipping into a minor key in a few places, but the music doesn't stay there long. The opening theme of the movement comes back one last time, and Mozart wraps up the quartet with a short coda.

Mozart - Piano Sonata No. 8 In A Minor K.310/300d

In the time of Mozart, most musicians were employed by  the church or by royalty.  Either way, musicians of the time were in the same class as servants, maids and butlers. Mozart's contemporary Haydn was employed by the royal Esterházy family at the court in Hungary on either a full time or part time basis from 1761 to 1802.

Mozart also worked for a royal employer, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo in Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace. Mozart spent his early childhood touring Europe as a child prodigy and spent some time in Italy studying music. When he returned to Salzburg he was hired as a court musician when he was seventeen years old.  Because of Mozart's strained relations with the Archbishop over salary and other matters, he resigned his position at court when he was twenty and planned to tour Europe once again in search of employment. Mozart ended up in Paris with his mother while Leopold stayed in Salzburg to try and find a better position for his son.

Mozart's trip to Paris produced no opportunities for employment. He performed little and composed little. He was reduced to pawning some of his personal effects for money to get by on.  To add to his miseries his mother became ill and after three weeks died in Paris in 1778. The Piano Sonata No. 8 was most likely a product of his sorrow over the loss of his mother.

Mozart wrote few major pieces that were in minor keys, only one other piano sonata besides this one is in a minor key. It is in three movements:

I. Allegro maestoso - The movement is in sonata form and begins straight away with a dotted theme accompanied by eighth note chords in the bass

The theme progresses at a restless pace until the second theme appears in the key of C, the relative major of the home key of A minor. While this theme is in a major key, the restlessness of the opening continues. After the obligatory repeat, the development section begins with the first theme being heard in C major. The music modulates and shifts to a minor key as the first theme is developed briefly. The recapitulation begins and after the restatement of the first theme along with transitional material, the second theme reappears, this time in the minor. There is a short coda that emphasizes the dotted rhythm of the opening that is punctuated by the bass moving in 16th notes until the final A minor chords.

II. Andante cantabile con espressione -  This movement is in F major and begins with simple elegance that stands in sharp contrast to the darkness of the first movement. But roughly half way through the movement the music returns to the restlessness of the first movement. The music returns to simple elegance as it sings its way to the end.

III. Presto - The finale is written in rondo form. A striking theme opens the movement that reflects the turmoil of the first movement, but by different means. The music is relentless in its pursuit of expression. There is a brighter section, but the music returns to the opening theme. The theme bounces into the bass momentarily, and after a few more comments the music ends as it began, in the key of A minor.

Mozart - Fantasia For Mechanical Clock, K.608

In Mozart's time there was a vogue for mechanical clocks that had organs built into them. These were the 'synthesizers' of their time, and were commissioned by the nobility (and anyone else that could afford to have them built). Mozart and other composers were commissioned to write original pieces for some of these machines, and he composed three pieces for these mechanical marvels.

The Fantasia in F Minor K.608 has a clouded history. There is mention of the piece and the two others Mozart composed for these machines in his correspondence, but only one of the pieces has an autograph score. No autograph exists for the Fantasia K. 608, but there are many examples of versions of the piece for piano two and four hands, for organ, string quartet, orchestra and other instrument combinations. Beethoven had a copy of the piece and made his own version of the fugue section of the work, so while it was written for a mechanical clock, the quality of the piece caused it to have a life separate from its original form. It was a well-known piece in the 19th century and influenced many composers and performers.

A small type of musical clock with an organ built in

The piece begins with a prelude in F minor that is punctuated by the full chords, dotted rhythms and fugue of the French Overture style that was developed in the 1650's by French composers.  The middle section is an andante in A-flat major, the relative major of the F minor prelude. After a short summing up, the prelude enters again. After the restatement of the prelude, the fugue returns as a double fugue, that is there is an additional subject played along with, and developed along side, the initial theme of the fugue. The prelude returns once more and leads to what at first appears to be a reiteration of the fugue, but is in fact a short coda that leads to the end of the piece.

This piece is perhaps Mozart's tribute to the works of J.S Bach and other composers. Although it took Mendelssohn's performances of Bach in the early 1800's to bring Bach to the attention of the public, Bach's manuscripts and copies of them were known by composers and teachers long before then.  Mozart knew some of Bach's music, along with other composers of the previous generation. This piece for mechanical clock shows that the past masters taught him well.

Mozart - String Quartet No. 19 in C Major 'Dissonant'

Two of the greatest composers of the classical music era happened to be good friends. Although there was 24 years difference between Mozart and the older Haydn, they came to know and respect one another during the winter months that Haydn spent in Vienna. There are many anecdotes concerning the two and their genuine affection and respect for one another.  As for Mozart's thoughts on Haydn, the following is an example:

At a private party a new work of Joseph Haydn was being performed. Besides Mozart there were a number of other musicians present, among them a certain man who was never known to praise anyone but himself. He was standing next to Mozart and found fault with one thing after another. For a while Mozart listened patiently; when he could bear it no longer and the fault-finder once more conceitedly declared: "I would not have done that", Mozart retorted: "Neither would I but do you know why? Because neither of us could have thought of anything so appropriate."

Joseph Haydn 

As for Haydn's opinion of Mozart, he told Mozart's father Leopold the following:

"Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name; he has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition."

It was Haydn's influence that set Mozart to writing string quartets, with an excellent set of six quartets published in 1785 and dedicated to Haydn. Quartet No. 19 in C Major was the last one in this set.

I. Adagio - Allegro - The first movement of this quartet begins with a slow introduction. It was this slow introduction with its daring (for the time at least) harmonies that led to the nickname 'dissonant'. It's been said that some music dealers returned the manuscripts to the publisher because they thought these harmonies were mistakes, and that a Hungarian nobleman got so angry over the supposed mistakes that he tore up the music. Even Haydn was initially shocked by the dissonance, but his faith in his friend didn't waver. He eventually defended his friend by saying, "Well, if Mozart wrote it, he must have meant it.”  Mozart's dissonant introduction stands in stark contrast to the music of the rest of the movement.

II. Andante cantabile - This movement is in sonatina form, which is sonata form without the development section.

III. Menuetto, Allegro - An elegant minuet in the home key of C major with a contrasting trio section in the  parallel key of C minor.

IV. Allegro molto - Written in sonata form, this music returns to the mood of the first movement.

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 9 'Jeunehomme'

Mozart wrote many of his 20-plus piano concertos for his own use, but the 9th concerto in E-flat was an exception. Tradition says he wrote it for a traveling French virtuoso, a woman (a rare thing in those days?) whose surname was Jeunehomme. The concerto was written in 1777 when Mozart was 21 years old and was premiered in the early part of the same year by her. There is nothing else known about her,  nothing about her career, or if her name was actually Jeunehomme.  She must have been good, for Mozart wrote one of his finest piano concertos for her. Mozart himself played the concerto later in the same year, and came back to it in later years to add some minor ornamentation to it.

The concerto is unique for other reasons also, as will be told in the analysis below. It was composed for strings, two oboes, two horns and soloist, but Mozart's skill in using the forces at hand makes it sound much larger than that. It is in the customary three movements:

I. Allegro - Mozart begins the concerto with a flourish for the orchestra, which is immediately answered by the solo piano, a novel idea at the time for the soloist usually didn't enter until the orchestra played an exposition of the themes. This sets the tone as the piano has other surprising entrances at different times as well as its traditional statements of the themes of the movement.

II. Andantino - This movement is written in C minor, the relative minor of the home key of E flat major.  Mozart wrote only five concertos that had middle movements in a minor key.  Mozart has the piano sing a sad, melancholy song while the orchestra accompanies.  It is like a scene from a tragic opera, one of Mozart's most heart-felt slow movements.

III. Rondo : Presto - The piano plays an extended solo at a brisk tempo, the orchestra replies.  Mozart keeps up the pace, with piano and orchestra trading comments and taking turns accompanying and soloing.  After a few episodes and return of the rondo theme,  the piano plays a short cadenza that leads to a gentle minuet. The minuet  is played and developed as a separate section until the piano plays another short cadenza that leads back to the theme of the rondo. The music runs helter-skelter to the conclusion.

A word about the performance in the video below. This was played on a copy of a piano like Mozart would have played on. To distinguish this kind of piano from the modern instrument it is sometimes referred to as a fortepiano.  The piano of Mozart's time was markedly different from the modern instrument. The keyboard was smaller, five octaves compared to seven and a third, the frame was wood compared to iron,  lighter hammers and action, different tone qualities in different parts of the keyboard, considerably less volume than a modern instrument. These qualities will be evident in the recording.  It gives the listener an idea of why concertos were written as they were. With an orchestra that could drown out the soloist the problem of balance between the two is crucial.  

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor K. 491

Whenever Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote a piece in a minor key, he always had something profound to say. The two symphonies in G minor (No. 25 and No.40), the Piano Quartet in G minor, and the two piano concertos in D minor and C minor are all dramatic works.   The Concerto No. 24 in C minor is one of Mozart's masterpieces. It was admired, studied and possibly performed by Beethoven. Indeed, Beethoven's own 3rd Piano Concerto not only uses the same key, but the opening theme in the first movement resembles Mozart's initial theme.  There is a story that while Beethoven and the pianist J.B. Cramer were listening to this concerto being performed in Vienna, Beethoven said, "We shall never be able to do anything like this!"

Mozart used an orchestra larger than for any of his other piano concertos to that time. The autograph score shows many erasers and corrections, quite uncharacteristic of Mozart as many of his autograph scores were fairly pristine. This concerto was written at the same time Mozart was writing his opera The Marriage Of Figaro. He was the soloist in the first performance of the concerto in 1786, two weeks after he completed it.  The concerto is in 3 movements:

I. Allegro - The first movement opens with a quiet, sinister theme that is developed into a roar carried by the rest of the orchestra and piano. Although the theme is in C minor, Mozart uses all the tones in the chromatic scale in it:

TThere are two secondary themes that help to give some relief to the tension, but the movement is dominated by the opening theme. The drama and tension of most of the movement may lead the listener to be prepared for a stormy end to the movement but the music quietly and abruptly ends.

II. Andante - Music that is in contrast to the turbulence of the previous movement. Mozart was one of the great composers for wind instruments and it shows in this movement as there are extended passages for wind ensemble. There is a feeling to this music akin to what Mozart wrote in some of his serenades, as the piano and winds take turns with the gentle thematic material. The music reverts back to the beginning of the movement and gently winds down to a restful conclusion.

III. Allegro - Presto - Instead of ending the concerto with a movement in the usual rondo form in a lighter mood and a major key, the third movement begins with a theme in C minor that is the basis for a masterful set of variations:

The eight variations contrast one another in mood until the last variation shifts to 6/8 time with an ominous rhythmic lilt that leads to the resounding final chord.

The great French writer André Gide said about Mozart that he speaks in whispers while the public tends to hear only shouts.  Comparing Mozart to Beethoven, that is perhaps true. But the 'whispers' in this concerto are dramatic, prophetic of things to come from other composers.

Mozart - Symphony No. 25 In G Minor K. 183/173dB

Wolfgang Mozart was only seventeen years old when he wrote his 25th Symphony in G minor. Not only had he written 25 symphonies by then, he had written about 175 other compositions as well.

Mozart and his father Leopold had traveled to Vienna in the summer of 1773 and while there the young composer heard many works from contemporary composers. While he was influenced by many, he was especially influenced by the works of Joseph Haydn and the now almost forgotten Czech composer Johann Wanhal. The 25th Symphony In G Minor is in the Sturm und Drang style of Haydn's symphonies of the time, and is one of only tw osymphonies in minor keys written by Mozart, with the other being Symphony No. 40, also written in G minor. To differentiate between the two works Symphony No. 25 is sometimes referred to a the Little G Minor Symphony.

Mozart composed the work in the fall of 1773 in Salzburg

It is Mozart's earliest symphony that found a place in the active concert repertoire. It is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, four horns, and the usual strings. It is in four movements:

I. Allegro con brio -  The movement begins with a short 4-bar section that appears to be an introduction but is actually part of the first theme. The violins and violas play a syncopated figure across the bar lines while the basses play on the beat which creates tension while the oboes play the outline of the beginning of the theme in whole notes. The first theme continues with an upward arpeggiated G minor chord in the style of a Mannheim Rocket:

The theme is repeated and slightly varied as a solo oboe plays the whole note outline while the strings play an accompaniment that is not syncopated. After a short transition, a second theme is played by the violins in the key of B-flat major:

A transition section of arpeggiated chords in tremolo strings leads to a third theme in the strings and also in B-flat major:

Another transition section of arpeggiated chords in tremolo is played by the strings and the exposition is repeated. The short development section continues the arpeggiated chords and tremolos until the opening outline of the theme in whole notes played by the oboe alternate with outbursts from the orchestra. The horns signal the end of the development as the recapitulation begins with the first theme. The second theme modulates to the home key of G minor, as does the third theme. A short coda brings back the first theme and expands the syncopated section until the viol;ins play a figure in running 16th notes as the horns lead to the end.

II. Andante -  A simple theme in E-flat major is heard in the strings and echoed in the bassoons.  The music is relatively tension free and is a a short respite from the tension and stress of the other three movements.

III. Menuetto & Trio -  Mozart goes back to the home key with a minuet that has a subtle hint of tension brought about by dymanic attacks of forte-piano (loud then suddenly soft). The trio is in G major and is written for the woodwinds and horns.

IV. Allegro -  Written in sonata form, the tension of the first movement returns with all four horns, syncopations and a first theme firmly in G minor. A second theme flirts with B-flat major. A short development section creates further tension and leads to the recapitulation. All the themes are repeated in the home key of G minor. The horns play a prominent part, a dramatic string part is added upon the repeat of the first theme by the horns. A short coda brings the symphony to a close.