Download IGCSE Music Prescribed Works Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No.23 in A major, K488.
1st Movement
Keywords
Köchel
Accompaniment
Concerto
Sonata
Movement
Tutti
Ritornello
Cadenza
Improvise
Binary form
Transposing
instruments
a2
Continuo
Tonal
Counterpoint
Suspensions
A catalogue Mozart used to number his compositions
Music that supports the melody
A piece for solo instrument and orchestra
A piece for solo instrument
A ‘chapter’ of a bigger piece of work
All instruments together
A recurring tutti section in an orchestra
A virtuoso (very difficult) solo passage inserted into a
movement in a concerto or other work, typically near the
end.
Make it up as you go along
AB
Clarinet in A and horn play a C but it sounds like an A. The
sound is a minor 3rd lower than what is written. The scores
for these instruments are written a minor 3rd (3 semitones)
higher – C major rather than A major.
Both instruments on that stave should play the same notes.
In the Baroque era the cello and harpsichord played the bass
notes and chords. Their notes weren’t written out. Instead
they used numbers showing the harpsichord player which
chords to use, a bit like a chord chart today.
Music belongs to either a major or minor scale
One or more independent melodies played at the same time.
Appoggiatura
The first note is played on the beat so it sounds
like two quavers f and e
1. BACKGROUND
Mozart Fakebook
He was born in Salzburg in 1756 and died in 1791, 35 years old.
Mozart played piano as a child and became internationally famous at a very young
age. Before he was 10 he played in Munich and Vienna (1762), Paris (1763), London
(1764), Amsterdam and Paris again (1765). He played before very famous people
such as King Louis XV of France and King George III of England. In his teens and
early 20s he did more international tours. He developed his skills as a performer
and composer during this time.
He was living in Salzburg, Austria. He worked in the court of Prince Archbishop
Hieronymus von Colloredo. He was a very difficult employer and Mozart felt very
restricted in his work. In 1781 be lost his job and had no other job to go to. He got
engaged and decided to go and live in Vienna with his new fiancée. Her name was
Constanze Weber and she was a singer. Mozart married her the following year,
even though his father didn’t approve.
Mozart tried to get a job at the court of Emperor Joseph II where his music was
often performed but nothing came until 1787, 6 years after his previous job!
During this time Mozart got an income through his compositions, especially those
that were commissioned (he got paid a fee for these) and for performing concerts
for a paying audience. At first, these performances were very successful and
Mozart composed a lot of music to satisfy his audiences. He continued to travel
and he took his new compositions to Viennese audiences and other European cities.
He was not just famous for his compositions but also for being a fantastic pianist,
especially when he performed his own concertos.
Mozart’s first 7 Concertos
Throughout his life Mozart composed concertos. His earliest ones were more
arrangements of existing movements from keyboard sonatas that he had to change
so he was able to play them. There are 7 such works. The first group consists of 4
concertos (K37, 39, 40 and 41). They date from 1767 when Mozart was 11 years
old. These were from composers such as Raupach, Honauer, Schobert, Echard, CPE
Bach (eldest surviving son of JS Bach).
The second group consists of a group of 3 concertos numbered as K107. The music
for these was by JC Bach (JS Bach’s youngest son) whom Mozart had met in
London in 1764. The concertos were written 8 years later in 1772.
In all seven of these concertos the piano part is the original sonata movement.
Mozart added his own orchestral accompaniment and wrote his own orchestral
ritornellos. The first movements (binary form) have four ritornellos:
 One at the beginning – tonic. Acts as an introduction
 2nd at mid-point – dominant.
 3rd and 4th at the end – tonic. Separated by a cadenza.
The cadenzas were normally improvised but were sometimes written down.
Although these early concertos are nothing compared to his later works, the
structure is very important.
In the middle of the 18th Century musical language was changing. We see it today
as the transition from a Baroque to Classical style. Composers still used the
common structures of the Baroque era (including binary and ritornello form).
Composers like Bach and Vivaldi used these structures in their concertos. Mozart
decided to add some of these forms to his sonata. By doing this he made a more
complex form that became the norm for concertos of the Classical era.
Mozart’s original Concertos
In 1773 Mozart composer his own original concerto, K175. It is also known as Piano
Concerto No. 5. After this concerto Mozart composed five more piano concertos
written in Salzburg (up to 1779). The rest of his concertos were written in Vienna.
All but 3 of them were written for Mozart to perform himself. He wrote at least
one concerto per year but in 1784 he composed 6. In 1785 he wrote 3 and another
3 in 1786. His last two piano concertos were in 1788 and 1791.
Mozart wrote so many concertos in 1784, 85 and 86 because he was very popular at
this time in Vienna. The more concerts he performed the more music he had to
compose. Sometimes he would start writing a concerto but would set it aside until
it fitted in well into a concert program.
With this concerto, K488 he started writing in 1784. He didn’t finish it until 1786.
The first draft of his composition still survives. In his earlier draft he used oboes
instead of clarinets. He finished this concerto and wrote it in his catalogue on 2
March 1786. We think the first performance was later in the same month.
Opera vs. concerto
In 1786 Mozart also wrote the opera The Marriage of Figaro. The first
performance took place on 1 May. Operas and concertos might seem like very
different pieces of music but they have got similarities. Arias in an opera are
movements for a soloist with orchestral accompaniment, just like a concerto is a
work for solo instrument with orchestral accompaniment.
In Mozart’s concertos he often writes ‘dialogues’ or conversations between his
instruments – just like the kind of dialogue you’ll get between characters in an
opera. The structures of his arias are also similar to movements of his concertos.
In K488 many of the themes have a song-like quality.
Almost all of Mozart’s original scores for his piano concertos survive. His widow
sold them to Johann Anton Andre in 1799. The first movement of K488 is unusual
in one particular way. The first movement cadenza for soloist was not normally
included in the score. It would normally be improvised during the performance or
be on a separate sheet. In K488 the cadenza is included in the score. It is the only
piano concerto where it is.
Homework:
Complete the quiz on Mozart’s background on Edmodo.
2. INSTRUMENTS
Mozart used the following instruments in his orchestra for K488
1 flute
2 clarinets (originally oboes)
2 bassoons
2 Horns
Strings
Solo piano
Transposing instruments:
Horns and Clarinet in A. When these instruments read a C note on the music and
play a C note on their instruments it will sound like an A. The sound is a minor 3 rd
lower than they are written.
The clarinet part in b9 is written as follows:
When the clarinet plays it, it will sound a minor 3rd (3 semitones) lower. This is
what you’ll hear:
When a clarinet is transposed you need to write the notes a minor 3 rd lower. You
also need to change the key signature at the front a minor 3rd (3 semitones) lower.
The horn, however, does not use a key signature. The accidentals have to be placed
in front of each note.
The double basses sound an octave lower than they are written. In Mozart’s time
the double basses played exactly the same parts as the cellos but an octave lower.
This means that both parts are written on the same line. In b33 and 34 the two
parts spilt, with cellos playing the top note and a rest is given for the double
basses.
Homework:
The example below is from the horn part in b16. Transpose this to sounding pitch.
Remember that the horn part doesn’t use a key signature. Use accidentals in front
of the notes instead.
Write the clarinet score at sounding pitch. Remember to write the key signature at
the front for the clarinet.
3. DIRECTIONS IN THE SCORE
In the 18th Century composers didn’t write detailed instructions on their scores. If
anyone had a question, the composer was usually there to answer the question.
Directions in this score include:





Tempo marking at the beginning – Allegro. This was the standard tempo
marking in the Classical era.
Dynamic markings for the orchestral parts
Phrase marks (slurs) for the solo piano and strings
Articulation marks (slurs and occasional staccatos) for woodwind. This shows
when notes should be tongued or played legato.
a 2 in the woodwind parts. This means that both instruments written on that
stave should play the same notes.
Mozart did something quite interesting when writing the piano part. During the
orchestral ritornellos he wrote a bass part for the piano. This shows us that he
expected the piano to fill out the harmony just as the Baroque continuo would have
done. Mozart actually wrote in the dynamics for these piano parts. The rest of the
piano solo didn’t have dynamics. However, he did write dynamics for the orchestra.
This shows us that the orchestra usually didn’t have much time to rehearse and
they would be sight-reading. Mozart would be playing the piano part himself so he
wouldn’t need to see the dynamic markings as he knew how loud or quiet it should
be.
4. TECHNIQUES
Tonality
Harmony
Compositional
devices
Melodies
The music is tonal and keys are easy to see.
He uses some chromatic chords such as:
 Diminished 7th
 Augmented 6th
 Neapolitan 6th
 Dominant 9th
He sometimes uses a #4 in the bass on the way to a cadence.
Uses dominant pedal often
Inversion. Intervals are sometimes inverted at the start of a
theme
Often uses chromatisism
Often uses melodic appoggiaturas
Suspensions are often used
Decorative passage-work in the solo piano
Some counterpoint in the Recapitulation
Some melodies are structured as an opening phrase and
answering phrase
What is unusual of this movement?
 Mozart uses many different themes and motifs. Some are related to each
other and others are not.
 The Development is based on new material only. It uses none of the material
of the Exposition.
5. STRUCTURE
The movement can be described as a mixture of Sonata Form and Ritornello Form.
These are the main sections:
First Exposition: A major Bars 1 – 66
First subject
Transition
Second subject
Codetta
B 1 – 18
B 18 – 302
B 304 - 461
B 46 – 66
Theme
Theme
Theme
Theme
A
T
B
C
Second Exposition (solo episode 1)Bars 67 – 142
First subject
Transition
Second subject
Codetta
B 67 - 81
B 82 – 982
B 984 - 113
B 114 – 136
Theme
Theme
Theme
Theme
A
T
B
C
Ritornello 2 (theme T1) Bars 137 – 142
Development (theme D) Bars 143 – 197
Recapitulation Bars 198 – 297
First subject
Transition
Second subject
Codetta
B 198 – 212
B 213 – 2282
B 2284 - 243
B 244 – 260
Theme
Theme
Theme
Theme
A
T
B
C
Recapitulation
B 261 – 283
Theme D
Ritornello3 (Theme T1) Bars 284 – 297
Cadenza
Ritornello 4 (Coda) Bars 298 – 313
Theme A
Opening phrase
Answering phrase
Theme T
Opening phrase
Answering phrase
Theme B1
Theme C1
Theme C2
Theme C3
Theme C4
Theme D