Classical Music / Piano Concertos
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, was written by W.A. Mozart in 1785.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the soloist in the first performance of his own Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor (K. 466), on February 11, 1785, in Mehlgrube Casino, Vienna. He performed it without any rehearsal and the music sheets came directly to the concert hall from the copyists.
Few days after the first performance, Leopold, the composer's father, visiting in Vienna, wrote to his daughter Nannerl about her brother's recent success: "[I heard] an excellent new piano concerto by Wolfgang, on which the copyist was still at work when we got there, and your brother didn't even have time to play through the rondo because he had to oversee the copying operation."
Other works by Mozart in this key include the Fantasia K. 397 for piano, Requiem, a Kyrie, the aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from the opera The Magic Flute and parts of the dark opera Don Giovanni. It is the first of two piano concertos he wrote in a minor key, with No. 24 in C minor the other.
Beethoven admired this concerto and kept it in his repertoire. Famed conductor Daniel Barenboim contends that this concerto was Joseph Stalin's favorite piece of music. Other famous composers wrote cadenzas for this popular concerto, including Beethoven (WoO 58), Charles-Valentin Alkan, Johannes Brahms (WoO 16), Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Feruccio Busoni and Robert Schumann's wife, Clara Wieck-Schumann.
Featuring:
'Martha Argerich in Giappone video'. Martha Argerich performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466. YouTube, uploaded by Andrea Bambace. Accessed February 11, 2012. (Trivia: Martha Argerich performed this favourite Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor when she was merely a child of 8 years old, an original broadcast from Buenos Aires "Radio Nacional" in 1950, (apology, thus the not-too-good recording), with Alberto Castellanos and Gran Orquestra Clásica de LR1. YouTube, uploaded by Pedro Taam. Accessed February 11, 2014.)
Piano Concerto No. 20 in C is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. As is typical with concertos, it is in three movements:
The first movement starts in the dark tonic key of D minor with the strings restlessly but quietly building up to a full forte. The theme is quickly taken up by the piano soloist and developed throughout the long movement. The timpani further heightens the tension in the coda before the cadenza. The movement ends on a quiet note.
The second movement, with an inspired title, is referred to as "Romanze", is a five-part rondo with a coda. The beginning features a solo piano playing the flamboyant and charming main B-flat major melody without accompaniment. This lyrical, passionate, tender and romantic melody, played at a relatively dainty tempo, paints a picture of peace and a sense of harmony between the piano and the orchestra, fit for its name "Romanze." The movement ends with an ascending arpeggio, light and delicate, until it becomes a faint whisper. This movement is yet another testament to Mozart's brilliance not just exciting and bold music, but also gentle and melodious sounds that can touch the listener's soul.
The final movement, a rondo, begins with the solo piano rippling upward (known as the "Mannheim Rocket") in the home key before the full orchestra replies with a furious section. A second melody is touched upon by the piano where the mood is still dark but strangely restless. A contrasting cheerful melody in F major ushers in not soon after, introduced by the orchestra before the solo piano rounds off the lively theme. The same format is followed, with a momentary pause to introduce the customary cadenza, after which, the mood clears, and the bright happy melody taken up by the winds. The solo piano repeats the theme before a full orchestra passage develops, the concerto ending to joyful completion.
Recommended for listening pleasure:
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, was written by W.A. Mozart in 1785.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the soloist in the first performance of his own Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor (K. 466), on February 11, 1785, in Mehlgrube Casino, Vienna. He performed it without any rehearsal and the music sheets came directly to the concert hall from the copyists.Few days after the first performance, Leopold, the composer's father, visiting in Vienna, wrote to his daughter Nannerl about her brother's recent success: "[I heard] an excellent new piano concerto by Wolfgang, on which the copyist was still at work when we got there, and your brother didn't even have time to play through the rondo because he had to oversee the copying operation."
Other works by Mozart in this key include the Fantasia K. 397 for piano, Requiem, a Kyrie, the aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" from the opera The Magic Flute and parts of the dark opera Don Giovanni. It is the first of two piano concertos he wrote in a minor key, with No. 24 in C minor the other.
Beethoven admired this concerto and kept it in his repertoire. Famed conductor Daniel Barenboim contends that this concerto was Joseph Stalin's favorite piece of music. Other famous composers wrote cadenzas for this popular concerto, including Beethoven (WoO 58), Charles-Valentin Alkan, Johannes Brahms (WoO 16), Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Feruccio Busoni and Robert Schumann's wife, Clara Wieck-Schumann.
Featuring:
'Martha Argerich in Giappone video'. Martha Argerich performs Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466. YouTube, uploaded by Andrea Bambace. Accessed February 11, 2012. (Trivia: Martha Argerich performed this favourite Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor when she was merely a child of 8 years old, an original broadcast from Buenos Aires "Radio Nacional" in 1950, (apology, thus the not-too-good recording), with Alberto Castellanos and Gran Orquestra Clásica de LR1. YouTube, uploaded by Pedro Taam. Accessed February 11, 2014.)
Movements
Piano Concerto No. 20 in C is scored for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and strings. As is typical with concertos, it is in three movements:
- Allegro
- Romanze
- Allegro assai
The first movement starts in the dark tonic key of D minor with the strings restlessly but quietly building up to a full forte. The theme is quickly taken up by the piano soloist and developed throughout the long movement. The timpani further heightens the tension in the coda before the cadenza. The movement ends on a quiet note.
The second movement, with an inspired title, is referred to as "Romanze", is a five-part rondo with a coda. The beginning features a solo piano playing the flamboyant and charming main B-flat major melody without accompaniment. This lyrical, passionate, tender and romantic melody, played at a relatively dainty tempo, paints a picture of peace and a sense of harmony between the piano and the orchestra, fit for its name "Romanze." The movement ends with an ascending arpeggio, light and delicate, until it becomes a faint whisper. This movement is yet another testament to Mozart's brilliance not just exciting and bold music, but also gentle and melodious sounds that can touch the listener's soul.
The final movement, a rondo, begins with the solo piano rippling upward (known as the "Mannheim Rocket") in the home key before the full orchestra replies with a furious section. A second melody is touched upon by the piano where the mood is still dark but strangely restless. A contrasting cheerful melody in F major ushers in not soon after, introduced by the orchestra before the solo piano rounds off the lively theme. The same format is followed, with a momentary pause to introduce the customary cadenza, after which, the mood clears, and the bright happy melody taken up by the winds. The solo piano repeats the theme before a full orchestra passage develops, the concerto ending to joyful completion.
Recommended for listening pleasure:
Charles Hazlewood Explains Mozart Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor K.466 III. Allegro Assai. Youtube, uploaded by Jack Jack. Accessed January 15, 2023.
Mozart's Piano Concerto No.20 in D Major, K.466. Uploaded by Facconti. Accessed February 11, 2013.
Resources:
- Girdlestone, C. M. Mozart's Piano Concertos. Cassell, London.
- Hutchings, A. A Companion to Mozart's Piano Concertos, Oxford University Press.
- Mozart, W. A. Piano Concertos Nos. 17-22 in full score. Dover Publications, New York.
- Steinberg, M. The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, Oxford (1998)
(c) February 2013. Updated January 15, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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