Mozart, Piano Concerto No.20, K.466 (Clara Haskil, Igor Markevitch, Orchestre des Concerts Lamou...)

W.A.Mozart's Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466, with a theme-and-structure analysis and synchronized sheet music (score) Performance: Clara Haskil (piano), Igor Markevitch (conductor), Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, 1960/11, La Maison de la Chimie, Paris, France Analysis, Score Editing, Synch: ScoreMan 00:00 Movement 1: Allegro 13:28 Movement 2: Romance 23:03 Movement 3: Allegro assai OVERVIEW Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, in 1785. It is one of his most dramatic and emotionally intense concertos and one of only two piano concertos he wrote in a minor key. Its dark atmosphere, powerful contrasts, and unusually close dialogue between piano and orchestra made it especially influential on later composers. HISTORICAL CONTEXT Mozart completed the concerto in Vienna and gave its premiere on February 11, 1785, with himself as soloist. His father Leopold, who was visiting Vienna, attended the performance and reported enthusiastically about his son's success. The concerto comes from the extraordinarily productive period when Mozart was establishing himself as a pianist-composer in Vienna. Yet its turbulent D-minor character sets it apart from the more brilliant and sociable atmosphere of many of his other concertos. MUSICAL CHARACTER The first movement begins quietly but ominously, with syncopated orchestral figures creating immediate tension before the piano enters with its own material. Throughout the movement, soloist and orchestra seem almost to confront one another, producing an unusually dramatic musical dialogue. The second movement, Romanze, begins with a serene melody in B-flat major. Its peaceful atmosphere is suddenly interrupted by a stormy episode in G minor before the opening music returns. The finale is an energetic movement beginning dramatically in D minor. After a series of contrasting episodes and intense exchanges between piano and orchestra, Mozart unexpectedly turns to D major, bringing the concerto to a brilliant and optimistic conclusion. MUSICAL SIGNIFICANCE K. 466 expanded the expressive possibilities of the Classical piano concerto. Mozart integrates the soloist and orchestra into a dramatic argument while using minor-key harmony, syncopation, chromaticism, and sharp contrasts to create an intensity that later generations associated strongly with Romanticism. The concerto particularly fascinated Beethoven, who performed it himself and wrote cadenzas for the first and third movements. His admiration helped preserve the work's popularity during a period when many of Mozart's other concertos were performed much less frequently.    • J.S.Bach Masterpieces      • Handel Masterpieces      • D.Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas      • Haydn Masterpieces      • Mozart Masterpieces      • Beethoven Masterpieces      • Weber: 4 Piano Sonatas      • Schubert Masterpieces      • Mendenssohn Masterpieces      • Chopin Masterpieces      • Schumann Masterpieces      • Liszt Masterpieces      • Brahms Masterpieces      • Saint-Saëns Masterpieces      • Bizet Masterpieces      • Tchaikovsky Masterpieces      • Sarasate Masterpieces      • Albéniz Masterpieces      • Debussy Masterpieces      • Scriabin Masterpieces      • Rachmaninoff Masterpieces      • Ravel Masterpieces      • Prokofiev Masterpieces      • Shostakovich Masterpieces      • Piano Sonata Collection      • Violin Sonata Collection      • Piano Concerto Collection      • Violin Concerto Collection      • Symphonic Poems Collection      • Lieder & Art Songs      • Suite Collection      • Iberian Echoes