Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 07/24/2007, uploaded on 01/15/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Rondo K. 511      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Along with many sets of variations composed for the piano, Mozart also wrote his Rondo in A minor in 1787, at the height of his compositional powers.  It is in an ABACA form, with the simplicity of the writing of the opening theme offering both supreme delicacy and deep emotion.   The structure allows Mozart to present increasingly playful and divergent B and C sections, then bringing his listeners back to a more conventional restatement of the opening theme.  The B section is in three-part voicing.  Section C is in A Major; it becomes more intense with an increasing number of trills and turns.  The final transition back to the main theme offers groups of unwinding triplets, in diminishing dynamics.  The final restatement offers just subtle additions to the original motif, and the work ends with the melody disappearing into the texture of the left hand.      Jie Chen

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.