Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 06/22/2016, uploaded on 01/26/2017

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Violin Sonata in B-Flat Major, K. 454    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  I.     Largo – Allegro
  II.     Andante
  III.     Allegretto

The Sonata K.454 was commissioned in 1784 for a brilliant young violinist named Regina Strinasacchi for the Viennese leg of a tour, to be performed by Strinasacchi and Mozart himself. Legend has it that on the day of the concert, having barely gotten the violin part onto paper in time, Mozart sat down at the piano with a blank sheet in front of him and performed his not-yet-recorded composition from memory. The fact that Emperor Joseph II uncovered this transparent ruse by looking through opera glasses only added to Mozart’s winningly cavalier reputation.  At the time, the convention of a violin and piano sonata was to highlight the latter, with the violin as accompaniment. Naturally, this fit with Mozart’s own inclinations; yet the situation of K.454 called for roles of equally demanding virtuosity to fit the statures of their respective dedicatees. Thus both parts are filled with sparkle, energy, and bombast. The slow introduction—an unusual formal device for Mozart—begins with a fanfare of chords alternating with regally embellished melodic fragments. The Allegro brings the anticipated joyful fast movement, tumbling forth in irrepressible trills and leaps as the two parts interweave and meet with agile grace. The Andante begins as a reflective aria for the violin, the piano entering with ornamented, fleet counterarguments to the conversation. The Allegretto offers a soaring rondo theme punctuated by moments of mischief and earthy stomping. Mozart seems to find in the two instruments a unique compatibility, the piano mimicking the violin’s liquid runs and the violin the piano’s agile percussiveness with remarkable ease.        Notes by Zoe Kemmerling

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.