Life of Mozart Volume 2 — CHAPTER XXXIII. MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC. Part 2

(461) which appeared in November, 1781 (Vol. II.

, p. 187), Six Sonatas, Op.

2 (376, 296, 377-380, K.

), in F, C, F, B flat, G, E flat major, comprise some sonatas written at an earlier date--those in C and B flat major undoubtedly were, both upon external and internal evidence.

That they were all intended for one collection is evidenced by the differences in their designs, probably for the sake of variety.

Thus, the Sonata in C major begins with an elaborate Adagio leading into the Allegro in G minor (in depth of feeling these are the finest movements in the set);

the last movement is in variations.

In the Sonata in F major, variations are placed in the middle, and the last movement is a tempo di minuetto, treated rondo fashion.

The first movement is especially prominent in the Sonatas in F major and E flat major.

A Sonata in C major begun in 1782, "Pour ma très chère épouse" (404 K. ), is unfinished.

The fragment of a Sonata in A major, with an introductory Andante, followed by a Fugue in A minor (402 K. ), only half worked-out, and completed by Stadler, belongs unquestionably to the period of Mozart's intercourse with Van Swieten.

These were followed by:-- B flat major, composed April 21,1784, for Strinasacchi (Vol. II.

, p. 336), (454 K.

).

E flat major, composed December 12, 1785 (481 K. ).

A major, composed August 24, 1787 (525 K. ).

F major, "Short Violin Sonata for Beginners," composed July 10, 1788 (547 K.

).

The greater number of these were composed for pupils.

The majority of amateur pianists were then ladies, and it was usual for them to be accompanied on the violin by their teachers or other friends; this kind of music found favour also in social reunions.

[30] It follows, therefore, that these sonatas have no great depth of passion or scholarly treatment, but are well supplied with beautiful melodies and startling harmonic inflections, and are made interesting, sometimes even brilliant, to please the performers.

A notice of the first six sonatas soon after their appearance says:--[31] {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (462) These sonatas are unique of their kind; rich in new ideas and signs of the genius of their author, very brilliant and well suited to the instrument.

Besides this, the violin accompaniment is so artistically combined with the pianoforte part that both instruments are kept in constant activity, and the sonatas require a violin-player of equal skill with the pianist.

But it is impossible to give a full description of this very original work.

The connoisseur must play it through for himself, and he will then be ready to acknowledge that we have not exaggerated its merits.

It appears from this that the violin part was usually treated as subordinate, exclusively intended for accompaniment; but not so with Mozart: his violin parts are completely independent, on an equality with the piano, and composed with special reference to the idiosyncrasies of the instrument.

Indeed, the whole design of these sonatas avoids any interweaving of the parts, which are generally in strict counterpoint;

even the simple form of imitation is comparatively seldom employed;

the parts relieve one another, exchange melodies and passages, or move freely together.

If, however, we compare the violin part so skilfully added to the Sonata in B flat major (570 K. ), we shall find that it is no essential part of the design, but an evident addition; while in the violin sonatas proper, simple as the violin part may be, it cannot be subtracted without injury.

The principal charm of these sonatas lies in the rich development of their harmonies.

In this respect, too, the later sonatas are, as usual, superior to the earlier.

With the exception of the short sonata for beginners (547 K. ), that in E flat major (481 K. ) is the easiest, but it is remarkably clear and pretty.

The working-out of the first movement is formed by the delicate harmonising of the favourite subject already known to us (Vol. I.

, p. 259)--[See Page Image] which recurs free in the second part, and is therefore judiciously used to bring the whole movement to a close.

In the B flat major sonata also (454 K.

) the interest of the working-out is essentially harmonic; the return to the first subject is as striking to those who hear it now as it could have {PIANOFORTE TRIOS.

} (463) been to Mozart's contemporaries.

There are many similar touches which suffice to convince us how great an effect of novelty and boldness these sonatas must have produced.

The first place must again be accorded to the slow middle movements by reason of their beautiful melodies, in the steady flow of which the art of not merely beginning well, but of maintaining the interest, and knowing where to leave off, may be admired and studied.

In all of them a delicate and tasteful accompaniment, a rich and bold harmonic treatment--I need only mention the effective enharmonic changes in the andante of the B flat major sonata (454 K. ), and in the adagio of the E flat major (481 K. )--give to the simple outlines a delicate warmth of colour.

Each of these movements is fine of its kind, but the andante of the Sonata in A major (526 K. ) is specially attractive from the earnestness of its tone.

In the same class may be reckoned the trios, or, as Mozart called them, terzets for piano, violin, and violoncello, which were also principally intended for the social circle of amateurs.

Their composition for special occasions may be inferred from the fact that they all five fall within the summer and autumn of 1786 and 1788:-- G major, composed July 8, 1786 (496 K. ).

[32] B flat major, composed November 18, 1786 (502 K. ).

E major, composed June 22, 1788 (542 K. ).

[33] C major, composed July 14, 1788 (548 K. ).

G major, composed October 27, 1788 (564 K. ).

In June of the latter year Mozart asked his friend Puchberg if he did not intend to give a musical party soon, for he had written a new trio.

This was the trio in E major; and a later distinct mention of a trio written for Puchberg probably refers to the same.

There can at least be no question as to the superiority of this trio in design and originality, as well as in the effective treatment of the instruments.

The first movement is full of fire and energy, the imitative working-out of the second subject being {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (464) wonderfully heightened in effect by a bold harmonic inflection.

The second movement, with something of the character of a national melody, is fresh and charming, and has rhythmic and harmonic points which give it a piquancy altogether modern.

The last movement, though not devoid of expression and delicacy, is inferior in vital energy to the first, and seems somewhat too long, perhaps because an exclusive attention to brilliancy loses its effect upon hearers of our day.

External influences account for the fact that the succession of the trios is not in accordance with their merit and importance.

The two last are inferior not only to that just mentioned, but also to the two first.

In these, as usual, the middle movements stand highest; in the first movement of the trio in B flat major (2) there is no new second subject, but the first is employed again with some modification; the second part, therefore, opens with an entirely new and independent melody.

The trio in C major (548 K. ) is very easy, and seems to have been intended for some particular person.

The last (564 K. ) was first written by Mozart as a sonata for pianoforte alone.

When he had occasion to add the two stringed instruments, he had the original composition copied, added the violin and violoncello parts, and altered what had to be altered for the piano.

The original sonata may be easily traced, except here and there, where the alterations have gone deeper, and the different instruments, except in the variations, have little independence.

In contrast with the emancipation of the violin part in the violin sonatas, the violoncello part of the trios is always in the background.

It is treated as a bass instrument, and only exceptionally leads the melody or takes an independent part; of bravura it has little or none, and thus the original effects of which the combined instruments are capable seldom occur.

One remarkable instance of such an effect, however, is in the last movement of the first trio (496 K. ) at the passage in G minor, where the violin repeats four times the melancholy bar--[See Page Image] and then slides on to the G, while the violoncello carries out {TRIO FOR PIANOFORTE, CLARINET, AND VIOLA.

} (465) an expressive bass passage in crotchets, and the piano in two parts moves above both instruments in quavers; an effect of sound and motif which has often been laid claim to in recent days as something new and original.

An insurmountable obstacle to the fuller development of the trio (in which Beethoven later put forth all his creative powers) consisted in the want of good violoncellists among the musical circles for whom Mozart composed these works.

A trio in E flat major, for pianoforte, clarinet, and viola (498 K. ), composed on August 5, 1786, for Franziska von Jacquin, is very original (Vol. II.

, p. 278).

The unusual combination of instruments necessitated unusual treatment.

The viola is not a bass instrument, and is only available for middle parts, so that the usual violoncello part could not be given to it; this necessitated an altogether original design and execution, and a dependence for effect upon a peculiarly light colouring and transparent clearness.

The viola, whether accompanying or leading the melody, is treated throughout with special partiality, and has even a certain amount of bravura.

Mozart was fond of taking the viola himself in his later years, and Franziska von Jacquin was an excellent pianiste, so that we can understand his providing himself with a good part to perform with his friends.

The deeper tones of the clarinet are not used, out of consideration to the viola; its full liquid tones are particularly well adapted for the delivery of the melody.

The plan of the movements deviates from the ordinary course.

The first is not an Allegro, but an Andante 6-8 (signifying formerly a moderately agitated tempo) which is played straight through with no repetition of the first part.

It is in three tolerably equal divisions, in each of which the two beautiful subjects are enlarged upon in an easy but attractive manner, the first of them especially--[See Page Image] being scarcely ever lost sight of; the movement ends with a short coda.

The second movement is a minuet, the only one of the kind in Mozart's pianoforte pieces, serious and {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (466) broad in tone, somewhat elaborated in the trio, the motif of which is taken up in the coda; on the whole, a fine and characteristic movement.

The concluding rondo is full of pretty melodies and brilliant passages, and the different parts are delicately and independently treated.

A relatively much higher rank than that of the majority of the trios is taken by the two quartets for pianoforte, violin, viola and violoncello, of which the first, in G minor (478 K. ), was composed on October 19, 1785; the second, in E flat major, on June 3, 1786 (493 K. ).

They are, suitably to their enlarged resources, grander and broader in design, the motifs are fuller, and thematic treatment comes to the foreground.

The details of the work are developed from within, and are made subservient to the plan-of the whole.

Notwithstanding, therefore, their more elaborate treatment, the mode of expression is more definite, the contents weightier, the expression more forcible and clearer.

The inclination of the present day, since Beethoven has raised chamber music both in substance and form to a hitherto unapproachable height, is to make beauty of form[34] predominate over force and depth of original expression; it will be instructive, therefore, to cast a glance over a criticism by Rochlitz, written in the year 1800:[35]-- In these compositions, written for a select and limited circle, the spirit of the artist is displayed after a rare and singular manner, with the grandeur and sublimity of an appearance from another world; there are moments, it is true, of melting sadness or cheerful humour, but they are only moments, and the composer breaks forth again in the greatness, even fierceness, of his strength, or writhes in bitter sorrow--the struggle ending, as it were, only in victory or death.

That this may not be taken for mere empty raving, let any one hear, well-executed--(which can only be by persons who possess, together with the requisite skill, both a heart and an understanding for music)--Mozart's quartet for pianoforte, violin, viola and violoncello, in E flat major.

Let it be heard, studied, and then heard again.

{QUARTETS.

} (467) As an illustration of passionate feeling, amounting even to harshness in the force of its expression, we should rather quote the first movement of the quartet in G minor.

The following account from Vienna of "the latest musical novelties at grand concerts," written in 1788, will give some idea of the reception which these quartets met with on their first appearance, and of the difficulties they presented to contemporary performers:[36]-- The favourite pianoforte composer among lady amateurs is Kozeluch, but Pleyel is beginning to be a dangerous rival to him.

Pleyel's music contains humour and more of original invention than Kozeluch's, although the latter possesses elegance, regularity of form, and a certain flow of ideas.

Mozart is at present residing in Vienna as imperial kapellmeister.

He is considered as a remarkable man by every philosophic lover of music.

His genius was precocious, and he both composed and played in his eleventh year (even earlier) to the admiration of all who heard him.

But what is truly remarkable is that this precocious child should have blossomed into maturity as an accomplished musician.

We know the usual rapid course of such a prodigy by sad experience!

We look in vain for its fruits, for its stability.

Not so with Mozart!

But now a few words on a curious phenomenon which he (or his celebrity) has brought to pass.

A short time ago appeared a solitary quartet (for piano, violin, viola, and violoncello), very artistically arranged, requiring extreme accuracy of delivery in all the four parts, but even under the most favourable circumstances not likely to please any but musical connoisseurs in a _musica di camera_.

The report, "Mozart has written a new and very remarkable quartet, and such or such a princess possesses it and plays it!"

was soon spread abroad, excited curiosity, and caused the indiscretion of the production of this original composition at a grand noisy concert.

Many pieces can sustain their reputation even under a mediocre performance; but this work of Mozart's in the hands of indifferent amateurs, carelessly rendered, is simply unendurable.

It was so performed innumerable times last winter; at almost every place which I visited I was taken to a concert, and there entered a town-bred miss, or some other conceited amateur, to play this quartet to the noisy company who pretended to find it the _goût_.

But it gave no real pleasure; every one gaped with _ennui_ at the long _tintamarre_ of four instruments who did not keep together for four bars, and whose contradictory _concentu_ gave no impression of unity of sentiment.

The obstinacy with which it was forced down everywhere was indescribable.

It is not enough to stigmatise this folly as an ephemeral _manie du jour_ for {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (463) it lasted throughout a whole winter, and (as far as I can learn) is still only too often repeated.

What a contrast if this masterpiece were to be performed by four skilful musicians, in a quiet room where the listening ear might catch the suspension of every note, in the presence of only two or three attentive listeners!

But this would give no opportunity for display or the applause of the vulgar.

[37] The quintet in E flat major (452 K. ) for pianoforte, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon is a composition of peculiarly charming effect; it was composed by Mozart on March 30, 1784, for a concert which he gave in the theatre, and, being excellently performed, was received with great applause.

He himself considered it, as he tells his father (Vol. II.

, p. 287), to be the best thing he had ever written, and he selected it to play before Paesiello (Vol. II.

, p. 279).

It must not be judged from the various arrangements which have been made of it; it is accurately and exclusively fitted for the instruments for which it was written.

The sound effects produced by the well-considered combinations of the wind instruments are of surprising beauty, and the pianoforte maintains its ground against its melodious rivals by means of its power of quicker motion.

The whole work is clear and easy in each of its multitudinous details, and from beginning to end it is a true triumph of the art of recognising and adapting the peculiar euphonious quality of each instrument.

This harmony of sound, combined with a somewhat strongly accentuated harmonic treatment, constitutes the principal charm of the work, which is not rich in thematic invention.

Here and there Italian echoes are heard in the melodies, but the German style predominates, as it does in the quartets previously noticed.

[38] Beethoven is known to have emulated this work of Mozart's in his quintet (Op.

16); in no other of his works, perhaps, does he so plainly appear to have set a {PIANOFORTE CONCERTOS.

} (469) pattern before him for imitation; for once he has not succeeded in surpassing it.

[39] The pianoforte concertos, of which Mozart wrote seventeen in Vienna, must be considered from a somewhat different point of view.

[40] They are as follows:-- F major, composed end of 1782 A major, composed early in 1783 C major, composed early in 1783 Op.

4 (413 K.

, part 12).

(414 K.

, part 10).

(415 K.

, part 3).

E flat major, composed February 9, 1784, Op.

23 (449 K.

, part 14).

B flat major, composed March 15, 1784, Op.

67 (450 K.

, part 14).

D major, composed March 22, 1784, Op.

18 (451 K.

, part 13).

G major, composed April 12, 1784, Op.

15 (453 K.

, part 9).

B flat major, composed September 30, 1784, Op.

21 (456 K.

, part 11).

F major, composed December 11, 1784, Op.

44 (459 K.

, part 10).

D minor, composed February ro, 1785, Op.

54 (466 K.

, part 8).

C major, composed March 9, 1785, Op.

82, 6 (467 K.

, part 1).

E flat major, composed December 16,1785, Op.

82, 4 (482 K.

, part 6).

A major, composed March 2, 1786, Op.

82, 5 (488 K.

, part 2).

C minor, composed March 2, 1786, Op.

82, 5 (491 K.

, part 7).

C major, composed December 4, 1786, Op.

82, 1 (503 K.

, part 16).

D major, composed February 4, 1788, Op.

46 (537 K.

, part 20), "Kronungsconcert."

B flat major, composed January 5, 1791, Op.

82, 2 (595 K.

, part 15).

The greater number of these were composed between 1783 and 1786, when Mozart played much at concerts, and were intended for his own use; some of them also for that of others (Vol. II.

, p. 294).

[41] This accounts for their great diversity of character and design.

Of the three first which were intended to come before the public together (Vol. II.

, p. 293), {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (470) Mozart wrote to his father, while still at work upon them (December 23, 1782):-- The concertos are a happy medium between too easy and too difficult;

they are very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, without, of course, being empty.

Here and there are places which appeal exclusively to connoisseurs, but even ignoramuses will be pleased with them without knowing why.

It is plain that he knew what he intended.

Of the later concertos he writes (May 24, 1784):-- I cannot make a choice between the two concertos in B flat and D (450, 451, K.

).

I consider them both tough morsels for the performers (_Concerte die schwitzen Machen_): but the one in B flat is more difficult than the one in D. I am very curious to hear which of the three concertos in B flat, D, and G major (453 K. ) you and my sister like best; that in E flat does not belong to them, being quite peculiar of its kind, and written for a small rather than a large orchestra.

So that we have only to do with the three concertos, and I am curious to find whether your opinion agrees with the universal one here, and with my own.

They ought, it is true, to be heard with all the parts, and well played.

The emphasis which Mozart laid on the orchestra is very noticeable.

The essential merit and originality of his concertos consists in his combination of the orchestra and the solo instrument into a whole, by means of the co-operation of all their separate and independent elements.

[42] The prominence given to the orchestra (which, it must be remembered, owed to Mozart its richer composition, both of wind and stringed instruments) in those larger portions of the work where it occurs independent of the piano, as in the tutti of the ritornelli, gives a symphonic character to the concertos.

Even in those places where the pianoforte asserts itself as the solo instrument the orchestra participates so directly in the course of the pianoforte part as to form a not disjointed whole; in fact, the concertos have been aptly designated as symphonies with a part for the pianoforte.

[43] Mozart's art of blending the tone-colouring of the orchestra, which drew {PIANOFORTE CONCERTOS.

} (471) tears from his old father at the hearing of one of his new pianoforte concertos, shows his delicate sense of euphony and accurate knowledge of instrumental effects.

The pianoforte, with its comparative want of sustained tone, is at a disadvantage even with solo stringed or wind instruments, far more so with a combination of them.

This was still more the case at that time, in consequence of the defective mechanism of the instrument; and both art and ingenuity were required to make it at all effective.

When, after an elaborate ritomello, which has given a sense of fulness and satisfaction to the hearers, the pianoforte enters, Mozart aims at producing such a contrast, either by means of extreme simplicity or of a brilliant pianoforte passage, as shall gain over the listener to the peculiar charm of the new element, and excite his attention, which is then kept up by the competition of the rival forces.

The composer has no intention of confining the orchestra within the narrow limits of a modest accompaniment (for in that case why should he have appointed it so fully?

); he means it to put forth its whole strength, as well as to support and raise the pianoforte part.

An inexhaustible succession of fine effects is thus produced.

The delivery by the orchestra of the melody in sustained chords supports, as it were, the tendrils thrown out by the pianoforte, and gives a firm basis for figures and passages containing bold harmonic successions: But while it thus seems subservient to the solo instrument, the intensive strength and the tender fragrance of its sound effects are made to form an admirable contrast to the light and brilliant versatility, the sharpness, and clearness of the pianoforte.

It seems scarcely necessary to illustrate by an example the universal characteristics of the species, but I may instance the wonderfully fine andante of the Concerto in C major (467 K. ) Here the orchestral part is rich in striking harmonic detail, and in fine and original sound effects, which so completely enchant and satisfy the ear as scarcely to allow of a climax.

In contrast to this we have a surprisingly simple pianoforte part, displaying the distinctive properties of the instrument without effort or difficulty, and hovering, as it were, like a higher spiritual element over the {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (472) orchestral accompaniment, with which it is nevertheless inseparably connected.

Even Beethoven (who made a profound study of Mozart's pianoforte concertos) cannot be said to have surpassed him in this combination from within of different instrumental forces.

The superiority of his great pianoforte concertos rests upon other grounds.

It must not be supposed, however, that Mozart had no higher qualities than a finely cultivated sense for the blending of tone colours.

The invention, elaboration and distribution of the motifs were governed by the nature of the resources at his command; these had to be taken into account in the first sketch of the work, that so justice might be done them in its completed form; the germ must contain the capacity for development under the most varied conditions.

There is scarcely one instance in the concertos of an important motif confided to the orchestra or the pianoforte alone; they are all shared in common.

But when a subject is broadly and elaborately treated by the orchestra, it is naturally kept in the background by the pianoforte, while other motifs, merely announced by the orchestra, are rendered with their full effect and embellishments by the solo instrument.

This competition of the two forces is most evident in the alternating effects given to the working-out of the different subjects, but even in the brilliant figures and passages the orchestra appears like a well-proportioned edifice, decked with a profusion of arabesque-like ornament by the pianoforte.

Thus the charm of these concertos, most rightly so called, depends upon the active co-operation of the contrasted elements, by means of which the whole work is richly and brilliantly grouped, as a picture is grouped by a judicious disposition of light and shade.

The division of the concertos into three movements, as well as the formation of the movements after the analogy of the sonata, were found ready to hand, and only further developed by Mozart.

The first and principal movement contains the essential ingredients of the sonata form, namely, a second well-defined subject, and the working-out division but it is freer, and, owing to its improved resources, more fully appointed.

A distinct first part with a repetition does not {PIANOFORTE CONCERTOS.

} (473) exist; in its place there appears the first ritornello, with the solo movement belonging to it.

The principal subjects, with their working-out, are shared between the orchestra and the piano; but the solo is no mere repetition of the orchestral part; it differs both in the grouping and treatment of the subjects, and leads up to an inevitable climax.

A short ritornello brings this section to a close, and introduces the working-out part, equally shared between the pianoforte and orchestra.

The severer forms of counterpoint are only sparingly used, the harmonic element being the main support of an animated figure treatment; the polyphonic and homophonie manner are so blended throughout as to display the principal subjects from ever-varying points of view, and to keep the interest alive and active from first to last.

This middle movement, on which as usual the main interest is concentrated, leads back to the principal key and the introductory ritornello.

The latter is generally shortened, and the first part is not literally repeated, but undergoes modifications in arrangement and elaboration.

The conclusion is formed by the customary cadenza, which might also be introduced at other pauses, but was invariable here.

It gave opportunity for a free improvisation, consisting of brilliant passages wrought into a sort of capriccio with the addition of an elaborate variation on one of the subjects, or of several subjects so condensed as to form a _resume_ of the whole movement.

[44] The cadenza thus forms the concluding coda of the pianoforte part, and the orchestra brings the movement to an end in similar fashion by a more or less elaborate ritornello.

In this way the first movements of the concertos are developed out of the general sonata form, with such a regard to the relative claims of the orchestra and the pianoforte as serves to distinguish them from corresponding movements of the quartet and the symphony.

{MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (474) The two other movements are altogether simpler in design and execution.

The slow movement is in song-form, its working out sometimes that of a rondo, sometimes varied, but always simple and clear, and abounding in charming detail.

Here again Mozart has displayed a fund of deep and noble sentiment in its purest form, and the fantastic and romantic elements, mingled with a dreamy resignation, and an earnest endeavour after the expression of individual feeling, are more apparent in these movements than in any other of his compositions.

Startling harmonic progressions, scattered touches of piquancy contrasting with vague sentimentality, and rhythmical whimsicalities, give all the greater charm that they in no way interfere with simplicity of conception or purity of form.

I need only adduce by way of illustration the simple and beautiful romanze of the Concerto in G major (453 K. ), or the pleasing and highly original Siciliana of the Concerto in A major (488 K. ).

The andante of the C major concerto already mentioned is, however, incomparably the finest (467 K. ).

The emotion is so pure and lofty that the sorrowful impulses which prompt it, harshly expressed though they may be in places, such as the following--[See Page Image] {PIANOFORTE CONCERTOS.

} (475) penetrate the music like memories of a long since vanquished grief that has no more power to trouble the pure serenity of a mind which has mounted from resignation to holy joy.

This example, among many others, should teach us that beauty does not consist in the mere rejection of all that is harsh or keen, but in the maturity of the conception which gives birth to the work, and in the harmony of the conditions under which it is represented.

Such fruits as these can only be offered by an artist who has discovered the true secret of life.

The last movement of the concertos is always the easiest; it is generally in rondo form, sometimes in variations, lively and cheerful in tone; its predominant 2-4 time preserves its original character of a dance; or sometimes it is in 6-8 time, after the fashion of a hunting song, as in the rondo of the Concerto in B flat major (450 K. ) which closes in a long crescendo with a regular hunting flourish of trumpets.

[45] On the whole these last movements are more {MOZART'S PIANOFORTE MUSIC.

} (476) interesting than those of the other pianoforte compositions, and full of graceful, even humorous, passages, of which the last movement of the C minor Concerto (491 K. ) may serve as an illustration.

The peculiar harmonic treatment gives the subject a character entirely its own, and a new transition at the close invests it with a surprising charm.

The Concerto in D minor also (466 K. ) confirms the oft-repeated observation that Mozart's compositions in the minor keys are his deepest and most important, for its last movement is distinguished above all others by its fire and intensity of expression.

[46] On the other hand, the middle movements of these two symphonies (in E flat and B flat major), although not wanting in grace, are inferior to their other two movements in force and passion.

It is true that the andante of the C minor symphony was encored cm its first performance (Vol. II.

, p. 288), but the effect it made depended not so much on its melodies, charming as they are, as on the obbligato treatment of the wind instruments, which was an entire novelty at that time.

There can be no doubt that Mozart's concertos afford the best standard for our judgment of him as a pianoforte composer.

The majority of them, written for himself in his best days, take the highest rank among his works.

The first three (413-415 K. ) intended for large audiences are, as Mozart rightly indicates, light in character; so is the Concerto in E flat major (449 K. ), written for Fräulein Ployer, and the Concerto in B flat major, probably intended for Fraulein Paradies (456 K. ); next to these may be placed the Concertos in D major (451 K. ) and F major (459 K).

They are all distinct in their main characteristics; some, such as those in B flat major (450 K. ), G major (453 K. ), A major (414, 488 K. ), are cheerful and graceful; others, as the D minor (466 K. ) and C minor (491 K. ), are passionately agitated; others again, serious and self-contained, as the E flat major (452 K. ) FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXXIII.

[Footnote 1: Cf.

A.

M. Z.

, I.

, p. 157. ] [Footnote 2: So Rochlitz says (Für Freunde der Tonk.

, IV.

, p. 309), and the expression sounds very like Mozart.

But when he speaks of a visit paid by Mozart to Bach in Hamburg, shortly before he went to Leipzig (1789), he forgets that Bach died in 1788, and Mozart was never in Hamburg.

] [Footnote 3: His "Versuch über die wahre Art das Klavier zu spielen" appeared first in the year 1752; his numerous and widely known pianoforte compositions aim principally at the enforcing of practical principles.

] [Footnote 4: An account of J. S.

Bach's scientific method is given by Forkel (Ueb.

J.

S.

Bach, p. 11); a notice of the system of fingering formerly in use will be found in Becker (Hausmusik in Deutschland, p. 58).

] [Footnote 5: A. E.

Müller, in his "Anweisung zum genauen Vortrag der Mozartschen Klavierkonzerte" (Leipzig, 1796), has applied the principles of Bach's fingering to the more difficult passages of five concertos of Mozart.

] [Footnote 6: "Nothing made Mozart so angry as the maltreatment of his operas in public performances, principally by exaggerating the rate of the tempos," says Rochlitz (A. M. Z.

, I.

, p. 84).

] [Footnote 7: "It was his greatest and oft-lamented grievance," says Rochlitz (A. M. Z.

, I.

, p. 49), "that he was generally expected to perform mechanical juggling tricks and tight-rope antics on the instrument, which it amused people to _see_."

] [Footnote 8: "Mozart is the most finished and best pianoforte-player that I have ever heard," writes a correspondent from Vienna in 1787 (Cramer, Mag.

f. Mus.

, II.

, p. 1273).

"Never shall I forget the divine pleasure afforded me," says Rochlitz (A. M. Z.

, I.

, p. 113), "partly by the spirituality of his compositions, partly by the brilliancy, as well as the heart-melting tenderness of his execution."

(Cf.

I.

, p. 387).

] [Footnote 9: Frz.

Lorenz, W. A.

Mozart als Clavier-Componist (Breslau, 1866); a fine description, rich in characteristic traits.

] [Footnote 10: Cf.

Vol. I.

, pp. 177, 200, 285. ] [Footnote 11: Mus.

Real-Ztg.

, 1788, p. 49. ] [Footnote 12: In 1785 Torricella announced "Neueste Fantasie-Variationen von Mozart," as follows: "The eagerness with which the works of this famous master are everywhere looked for, and the certainty with which they command the esteem of the connoisseur by their art and elegance, and touch the hearts of all by their tender melodiousness, have induced me to publish these very beautiful variations for the benefit of the most fastidious lovers of music, to whom I offer a new work calculated to do honour to its author.

I shall endeavour from time to time to place all the remaining variations of this admirable master in the hands of an appreciative public."

Fräulein Aurnhammer supervised the publishing of several of Mozart's variations (Cramer, Magaz.

d.

Mus.

, II.

, p. 1274).

] [Footnote 13: The variations on a theme by Dittersdorf (287 Anh.

, K.

) are by Eberl, according to his assertion in the Hamburg Correspondent (July 25, 1798, No. 118, Beil ), and his are also the variations so often printed under Mozart's name on the theme, "Zu Steffen sprach im Traume" (288 Anh.

, K.

).

The variations on a theme from Sarti's "I Finti Eredi" (289 Anh.

, K.