Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 02/01/2005, uploaded on 04/30/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Between the years 1782 and 1786, Mozart composed fourteen of the twenty-seven concertos he wrote for the piano. Many of these concertos he composed for himself, premiering them in a series of subscription concerts each year. These concerts were a great success for Mozart, providing him with a substantial income, and he quickly rose to the top of the Viennese musical scene. Despite his immense creative efforts in the concerto genre, by 1786 Mozart began shifting his focus back to opera. One of the final concertos to flow from his pen, the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major was composed, and likely premiered, around the same time as The Marriage of Figaro.

The Piano Concerto No. 23 was a great success and today it remains one of Mozart's consistently popular concertos. It begins with a straightforward orchestral exposition announcing the first movement's two principal themes in the tonic key. The A major tonality of the work, though lending the piece a bright and cheerful disposition, is often tempered with a touch of melancholy through the use of foreign keys. Even before the soloist makes his entrance, a brief moment of D minor steals upon the scene indicating the subtle conflict that ensues throughout the work. An air of mystery enters during the development section of the first movement with a key change to C major and a melodic idea ripe for contrapuntal treatment.

The middle movement, an Andante in F-sharp minor, is a particularly notable part of the work—it is Mozart's only piece composed in that key. Cast in ternary form, it opens with a poignant melody given by the piano alone. After the relatively cheerful first movement, it is evident a dark shadow has passed over the mind of the composer. Following the piano's opening melody comes a poignant motif in the strings and winds. The key of A major returns in the movement's middle section. Nevertheless, it does not posses the sunny outlook of the prior movement.

Recovering from the gloom of the middle F-sharp minor movement, the Rondo finale is overly joyful and even humorous. Though the darker tones of the minor key make their appearance, they are held subordinate to the cheerful quality of the finale. A final statement of the Rondo's principal theme relentlessly propels the movement forward until a flourish of the orchestra brings about its joyous conclusion.       Joseph DuBose