Piano Concerto No. 21 (Mozart)
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (K 467) was written in 1785. It is one of Mozart's most popular piano concertos, and has three movements.
The first movement starts off quietly with a jolly march on the lower strings before the upper strings and woodwinds reply. A joyous outburst soon follows before a secondary idea is interwoven with the main theme. The piano makes a quiet entry with a scale configuration, leading to a mini cadenza that ends in a trill before the whole orchestra restates the main theme. The piano then further elaborates before putting forth another idea in G major, which is preceded by a passage that prefigures the main theme of his Symphony No. 40 in G minor. The main theme appears in G major, and goes on to a run of scales from the soloist as the woodwinds play a melancholic figure. This soon leads back to the quiet opening and a restatement of the G major idea in the main key. Soon, the tutti leads to a cadenza before the orchestra ends with the final section of the opening, slightly modified to end on a quiet but distinct note.
The Andante starts with a triplet figuration in the bass supporting a languorous melody. After a leisurely exposition by the orchestra, the soloist takes over the triplets and shares the melody with the ensemble. There are moments of "sadness" that are very brief, but the overall tone of the movement is bright and calm.
The final rondo movement begins with the full orchestra espousing a joyous "jumping" theme. After a short cadenza, the piano joins in and further elaborates. A "call and response" style is apparent, with the piano and ensemble exchanging parts fluidly. The soloist gets scale and arpeggio figurations that enhance the themes, as well as a short cadenza that leads right back to the main theme. The main theme appears one final time, leading to a upward rush of scales that ends on a triumphant note.
[edit] References in Popular Culture
The famous second movement was featured in the 1967 Swedish film Elvira Madigan. The limpid sounds bring to mind a lazy boat ride on a placid lake, which was the imagery used in the movie. This has led to an anachronistic nickname of Elvira Madigan for the concerto. The use of this nickname has decreased in recent years as memories of the seldom-seen Swedish film have faded.
It was also used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me as Karl Stromberg's Atlantis base rises from the sea. More recently, it has been used as the background music to a recent Automobile Association television advert. Even more recently, the second movement's lyric opening could be heard being played on the sound system of Lex Luthor's boat in Superman Returns.
[edit] External links
- BBC Discovering Music (browse for .ram file for this work)
| Piano Concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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| Childhood Arrangements: No. 1 F Major K. 37 | No. 2 B flat Major K. 39 | No. 3 D Major K. 40 | No 4 G Major K. 41 |
| Salzburg Concertos: No. 5 D Major K. 175 | No. 6 B flat Major K. 238 | No. 8 C Major K. 246 | No. 9 E flat Major K. 271 "Jeunehomme" |
| Concertos for Multiple Pianos: No. 7 F Major K. 242 for 3 pianos | No. 10 E flat Major K. 365 for 2 pianos |
| Early Vienna Concertos: No. 11 F Major K. 413 | No. 12 A Major K. 414 | No. 13 C Major K. 415 |
| Major Vienna Concertos: No. 14 E flat Major K. 449 | No. 15 B flat Major K. 450 | No. 16 D Major K. 451 | No. 17 G Major K. 453 | No. 18 B flat Major K. 456 | No. 19 F Major K. 459 | No. 20 D Minor K. 466 | No. 21 C Major K. 467 | No. 22 E flat Major K. 482 | No. 23 A Major K. 488 | No. 24 C Minor K. 491 | No. 25 C Major K. 503 |
| Later Concertos: No. 26 D Major K. 537 "Coronation" | No. 27 B flat Major K. 595 |
