Piano Concerto No. 18 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The Piano Concerto No. 18 in B flat Major, KV. 456 is a concertante work for piano, or pianoforte, and orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
. In Mozart's own catalogue of his works, this concerto is dated 30 September 1784.
For years, historical speculation was that Mozart had written this concerto for Maria Theresa von Paradis
, based on a letter written around that time by Leopold Mozart
to his daughter Nannerl. However, Hermann Ullrich has discounted this theory, based on the date of entry in Mozart's catalogue and the fact that von Paradis had left Paris at the start of October 1784, which indicated that there was not sufficient time to send von Paradis the concerto for performance.. Richard Maunder has countered with the idea that Mozart could still have sent the concerto to Paris, and that it would have been forwarded to von Paradis in London, where it was possible that she performed the work in March 1785.
The work is orchestrated for solo piano
, flute
, two oboe
s, two bassoon
s, two horns
, and strings
. The concerto is in three movements
:
Mozart wrote out two different cadenzas for the first movement. Joseph Swain has performed a Schenkerian analysis of each first-movement cadenza. Martha Kingdon Ward has commented that the slow movement of this concerto contains one of the "most tranquil" of Mozart's flute solos, specifically in the G major variation. M.S. Cole has noted Mozart's use of meter changes in the finale, starting at measure 171, from 6/8 to 2/4 in the winds, with the piano following at measure 179. This changing of tempo in rondo finales was contrary to common practice at the time. Joel Galand has performed a Schenkerian analysis of the rondo finale, and noted features such as its novel use of ♭II as a remote key.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. In Mozart's own catalogue of his works, this concerto is dated 30 September 1784.
For years, historical speculation was that Mozart had written this concerto for Maria Theresa von Paradis
Maria Theresa von Paradis
Maria Theresia Paradis , was an Austrian music performer and composer who lost her sight at an early age, and for whom Mozart may have written his Piano Concerto No...
, based on a letter written around that time by Leopold Mozart
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
to his daughter Nannerl. However, Hermann Ullrich has discounted this theory, based on the date of entry in Mozart's catalogue and the fact that von Paradis had left Paris at the start of October 1784, which indicated that there was not sufficient time to send von Paradis the concerto for performance.. Richard Maunder has countered with the idea that Mozart could still have sent the concerto to Paris, and that it would have been forwarded to von Paradis in London, where it was possible that she performed the work in March 1785.
The work is orchestrated for solo piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, two oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, two bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, two horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
. The concerto is in three movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- Allegro vivace
- Andante in G minorG minorG minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
- Allegro vivace
Mozart wrote out two different cadenzas for the first movement. Joseph Swain has performed a Schenkerian analysis of each first-movement cadenza. Martha Kingdon Ward has commented that the slow movement of this concerto contains one of the "most tranquil" of Mozart's flute solos, specifically in the G major variation. M.S. Cole has noted Mozart's use of meter changes in the finale, starting at measure 171, from 6/8 to 2/4 in the winds, with the piano following at measure 179. This changing of tempo in rondo finales was contrary to common practice at the time. Joel Galand has performed a Schenkerian analysis of the rondo finale, and noted features such as its novel use of ♭II as a remote key.