Ian Sidden

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Mozart Month: Day 28 with his 20th Piano Concerto

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As I’m reaching the end of this project, I’m starting to struggle with what to listen to next. I know that I like piano concertos, so I’ll do that tonight and tomorrow probably… but then what? Is there anything obvious I’m missing (besides the operas)?

In any case, I’m looking forward to this.

The Recording

I’m listening to the complete piano concertos recording with Alfred Brendel and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields led by Sir Neville Marriner.

Apple Music

Spotify

Sheet Music

Piano Concerto 20 in D minor, K. 466

1. Allegro

  • Dark mood from beginning. Stormy.
  • Sighing motive sounds plaintive.
  • Piano begins lightly, but then enters a long section of fast notes and building tension.
  • Interesting music from the woodwinds. The violin concertos were a little lacking in this.
  • Pretty virtuosic throughout.
  • Piano is so dominant through long stretches of this. The violin soloist never got that in the same way in the concertos. Yes, this is a chordal instrument, but still. There is a greater dichotomy between soloist and orchestra.
  • This is rougher piano music than I’m personally used to hearing from Mozart.
  • Very flashy leading up to the cadenza, which allows the cadenza to be even flashier and not seem out of the musical context.

2. Romanze

  • Back and forth between soloist and orchestra.
  • Attractive and swelling melody.
  • Steady eighth note pulse keeps this grounded.
  • Ayy, and then the fireworks and switch to minor.
  • This is really an aural experience. Enveloping. Sustained orchestra tones, piano with a constant stream of arpeggios in varying rhythms.
  • And then it all comes back to that simple opening melody. Whew.
  • The recap and coda have a few surprises too.

3. Rondo – allegro assai

  • Fiery.
  • This driving stuff from the strings is thrilling.
  • Sections of unison playing.
  • Some playful moments mixed in with the intensity.
  • Some imitative entrances from the woodwinds with the soloist.
  • Goes on for awhile, and it’s great.
  • Long coda for Mozart.

Takeaways

Wow! What an incredibly intense and exciting piece of music. All the way through, the piece just rockets forward. Although it requires a lot of virtuosity from the soloist, the piece itself is very interesting musically. There are plenty of interesting and creative choices that Mozart makes, and I enjoyed hearing the little surprises and playful turns that kept arising. It makes me appreciate how detail-oriented he must have been. So much good stuff happening here.

In any case, until next time.

Mozart Month: Day 11 with Piano Concerto 27

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For anyone following along wondering why there was no commentary yesterday, it was due to the death of Sir Neville Marriner, whose recording of Mozart’s Requiem I decided to listen to and share but not comment on.

A few words on the composition. I’ve listened to it twice since yesterday, and a few parts several times in isolation. One thing that strikes me about it is it blends so many disparate musical elements. The orchestra and the indivudal melodies of the soloists connect me most to the rest of Mozart’s works. Many of the choral sections, however, sound positively Baroque. I have sung now in several Mozart operas as a chorister, and the writing is very distinctive between the two genres. Here, the chorus is in all-out counterpoint mode at times.

The “Lacrimosa” is probably the movement you want to listen to if you want a quick “in”. It’s immediately gripping and original. And sad. And dramatic.

I was surprised the most, however, by the quieter moments. Moments such as the endings of the “Confutatis” and “Agnus Dei” caught me off guard.

However, forgive me at the poverty of my above comments. It’s a work I haven’t yet sung, and I haven’t sung his masses either. Although it’s not incredibly long, especially when compared to any of his operas, it’s so unusual in his output that it’s hard to grasp what I’m hearing. Even briefly diving into individual movements, I can see that there’s much more to absorb. I will definitely look to his masses in the coming days to provide more context.

Today, however, I’m listening to Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 27. Norman Lebrecht listed it as one of Sir Neville’s top recordings, so let’s give it a shot even if it does shoot me to the very end of Mozart’s piano concertos.

The Recording

I’m listening to Sir Neville Marriner leading the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Alfred Brendel as the soloist.

Apple Music

Spotify

Sorry. I can’t find a YouTube recording of this particular recording.

Piano Concerto no. 27 in B-flat K. 595

1. Allegro

  • Jaunty start.
  • There’s something about this that feels very unusual, though it’s hard to put my finger on.
  • The piano part is much more immediately virtuosic (within Mozart’s context, of course).
  • Oh, I love the scales over the pizzicato.
  • Lots of silences.
  • Some very odd harmonies for Mozart. There’s a parallel harmony on a scale line with just the orchestra near the halfway point. So odd and cool.
  • The move in and out of major and minor is often very abrupt.
  • Funny grace notes and piano/orchestra imitation.
  • Some very normal Mozart-isms here, but others are subverted. For example, some of his cadences are very normal for him, but others sound like they’re trying to deliberately catch you off guard. Likewise melodies. This is a late work, so I should expect that, but the manner of it is still surprising. Man. Now I’m sad that he died so young.

2. Larghetto

  • I’m several minutes in, and it’s hard to describe. This movement feels very full and active for a second movement, but it’s very spacious. The main melody introduced by the pianist is very simply but somewhat triumphant sounding. When the orchestra takes it up it swells into the foreground.
  • Some dramatic sounding suspensions.
  • Yes, this string moment is beautiful. The lower voices play an active rising then descending phrase while the violins play melody fragments.
  • Lots of variety here.

3. Allegro

  • Final movement in 6/8?
  • Nice double reed moments.
  • This movement swings.
  • Once again, a musical novelty becomes a pervasive unifying idea. The “and 1 and 4” swing is ever-present.
  • During the more orchestral moments with piano, I enjoy hearing the piano integrate more as a textural instrument. That’s true across Mozart’s piano concertos.
  • Those piano accents made me think of jazz. Very surprising. (LATER: Ah, this is not in the sheet music. This was an added mid-movement cadenza.)
  • AND he just brought back the main theme from the second movement?!
  • The cadenzas in this recording are wild. I’ll have to check to see if their Mozart’s or not.
  • Probably the most challenging sounding of the Mozart piano works that I’ve listened to thus far. Since I’m not much of a pianist, I can’t definitely judge that though.

Takeaways

I like this. A lot. There are many surprises here, and the music is very enjoyable in all sorts of ways. Some of the surprises are certainly due to the performers, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable or diminish the surprises Mozart builds in. Following along in the sheet music (which I normally don’t do for this project), you can see that the performers made many subtle and bold choices in their interpretation.

Until next time.

Mozart Month: Day 3 with Piano Concertos 5 and 6

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After beginning at the end of Mozart’s symphony development, I’m going to jump back and start at the beginning of his piano concertos.

Recordings

The recording today is Mitsuko Uchida on the piano with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Tate.

Apple Music Linking to Apple Music is a mess, and it doesn’t always work. If you get taken to iTunes instead of the Apple Music site, just know that this album does exist for streaming in Apple Music.

Spotify The album on Spotify is divided up into a lot of smaller albums.

The observations below are quick initial reactions. Sometimes I’ll listen to a movement again to get a better sense of it, but I’m never diving into the sheet music. I want to experience the music as a listener does and see how it grabs me as a musical experience.

Piano Concerto No. 5 in D, K. 175

1. Allegro

  • Very jaunty beginning.
  • Piano gets right into it. It requires brilliant playing right from the piano’s entrance.
  • Each instrument voice has enough space to be heard. Back and forth between piano and orchestra is delightful.
  • Mozart exposure again. What the pianist must play is so sparse that it must be delicately and precisely played.
  • I bet this was a crowd-pleaser.

2. Andante ma un poco adagio

  • Alberti bass in left hand.
  • Very gentle piano part. The orchestra always gives enough space for the piano even during the most delicate passages.
  • Horns and woodwinds come in at moments of orchestral accent. They’re bursts of tonal color and then vanish.
  • This is just such a different animal than late Classical and Romantic piano work. I personally find it very refined and deceptively simple. The way the piano slots into what the orchestra is playing is sometimes just golden. Maybe I’m remarking that the sky is blue here since the piano should be heard in a piano concerto, but there’s something about the transparency that seems special to me.

3. Allegro

  • Virtuosic but gentle.
  • Lots happening in the piano, but it’s not clouds of chords but hyper active individual lines.
  • Lots of humor and charm.
  • So much action with the dynamics. Swells, outbursts, back to quiet, and then the dynamics of the phrases themselves telling a story.
  • Brief finale but satisfying.

Let’s do another.

Piano Concerto No. 6 in B Flat K. 238

1. Allegro

  • Begins with strong contrast in dynamics.
  • Very busy piano with the orchestra dropping out and providing accompaniment only occasionally.
  • Overall more daring than the previous concerto. Melodic and harmonic flourishes are given more room for experimentation.
  • Evokes a greater variety of emotional responses as well. Occasionally melancholy or longing despite the major key and quick tempo.

2. Andante un poco adagio

  • Wow. Relaxing.
  • Pizzicato makes an appearance.
  • Delicate lines rising rising yearning.
  • Some very surprising harmonies arising out of orchestral swells.
  • The trills as effect really work.

3. Rondeau (Allegro)

  • That “BOOM chuck chuck chuck” rhythm is infectious, especially when the basses take it up.
  • If I’m getting the rondeau structure right, the “C” section features some of the more mind bending piano work I’ve heard so far in these concertos. Really takes you on a journey.

That’s all for today. Tomorrow I’ll continue on the with piano concertos. If there’s some detail that you feel ought to be called out in any of these pieces, I’m happy to hear it.