10th piano concerto (Mozart)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 10th Piano Concerto in E flat major, KV 365 , is a piano concerto for two pianos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . In a different count, in which only Mozart's pure piano concertos are taken into account, it is not counted. It takes about 25 minutes.

Emergence

The 10th piano concerto was probably composed at the beginning of 1779. Here, Mozart processed the impressions of the trip to Mannheim and Paris that had just ended. He wrote the work for himself and his sister Nannerl .

To the music

1st movement: Allegro

The main movement begins with a unison motif of the strings, from which the first theme develops. A more restrained second theme follows, in which the bassoons appear separately for the first time, but is not taken up by the solo pianos. The solo exposure of the two pianos then takes up the main theme, with the second piano lavishly playing around the melody. The implementation takes on two small motifs from the main theme, but remains in the main fantasy implementation . Unusually, the second theme, which had previously only appeared in the orchestra, also appears in the solo pianos at the end of the development. The recapitulation initially moves the main theme to E flat minor and only brings it back in a shortened form. A virtuoso transition leads to the equally demanding solo cadenza for the two soloists. A closing ritornello from the exposition ends the movement with powerful E flat major chords.

2nd movement: Andante

The middle movement is characterized by the calm dialogue between the two pianos and the woodwinds playing along. After a note sustained for several bars, the oboe intones a melody to accompany the strings. The solo pianos take up the thought and develop it in dialogue. A few prominent dominant seventh chords on the first piano lead to a small caesura, after which the melody with the strings tentatively unfolds anew, then the oboe plays with the solo pianos. The middle section, which is only slightly moved, retains the style of the first. After a few quick runs, a calm theme unfolds again in the first piano, which is accompanied by the second piano and oboe. The repetition of the first part only begins in the pianos, but remains very close to the original. In the dialogue between the pianos and the oboe, however, there are even more extensive playings before the movement fades away softly.

3rd movement: Rondo, allegro

The final rondo begins with a lively theme in the strings. The solo pianos take up the chorus theme and expand it. Since both soloists repeat the themes, they each take longer than is usual with Mozart. The first couplet essentially retains the style of the chorus and quickly leads back to the chorus. The second couplet has a virtuoso and dramatic effect. The soloists toss each other the moving thought, which often turns briefly to minor. The repetition of the refrain is then slightly changed and shortened. The first couplet also appears in a soloistically reduced way. A virtuoso solo cadenza makes unusually high demands on the soloists. The concert ends with a happy and optimistic chorus.

Status

With its conception for two pianos, the 10th Piano Concerto is an exception in the series of Mozart's piano concertos. In many respects it is therefore difficult to compare with the other works of the genre. However , it is clearly superior to the 7th Piano Concerto for three pianos , the only other concerto for more than one piano, in terms of maturity and creative power. The later date of creation and the personal maturation through experiences such as the unfortunate trip to Paris are reasons for this. In this work, Mozart did not have to take into account the limited abilities of the dedicatee, as was the case in the 7th Piano Concerto KV 242 and 8th Piano Concerto KV 246 , since he wrote the work for himself and his sister. The piano setting is accordingly much more demanding and can at best be compared with the 9th Piano Concerto , which was written about a year earlier. The work represents a step forward in the orchestration, since Mozart prescribes two bassoons here. Only in the 15th Piano Concerto KV 450 does Mozart always make the woodwind mandatory. The topic is rich and combined with an innovative and large structure. For example, in the main movement there is more of a large orchestral exposure than a ritornello from the early concerts. As in the previous 9th Piano Concerto , the middle movement is characterized by its great depth of feeling and grandeur. This clearly points to the upcoming major concerts by Mozart.

Leopold Godowsky wrote two cadences .

literature

  • Hansjürgen Schaefer: concert book orchestral music GO. VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1978, ISBN 3-370-00036-9 .
  • Harenberg concert guide. Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5 .
  • Marius Flothuis: Mozart's Piano Concertos. CH Beck Wissen, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-406-41874-0 .

Web links