Piano Concerto No. 25 (Mozart)
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| Number: | 25 |
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| Köchel number: | 503 |
| Key: | C major |
| Instrumentation: | Piano and orchestra |
| Date of composition: | completed 4th December 1786 |
The Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in December of 1786, alongside the Prague Symphony, K.504. Although two more concertos (K.537 and K.595) would later follow, this work is the last of the twelve great piano concertos written in Vienna between 1784-1786.
Though the orchestra lacks clarinets, it does include trumpets and timpani. The concerto is one of Mozart’s longest, with a duration of about 33 minutes.
It has the following three movements:
- Allegro maestoso
- Andante in F major
- Allegretto
While the concerto is frequently compared to the Jupiter Symphony, Girdlestone considers its closest parallel to be the String Quintet in C, K515.[1] The expansive first movement is one of Mozart's most symphonic concerto movements. It is a majestic military march that has led this work to sometimes be referred to as Mozart's "Emperor Concerto". This movement subtly slips in and out of the minor several times. The secondary theme of the concerto's first movement is a march that often reminds people of the as yet unwritten Marseillaise.[2] Beethoven references this concerto in his own Fourth Piano Concerto. In addition, the famous motif in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony resembles one found in this concerto. The tranquil second movement is in sonata form, but lacks a development. It extensively uses the winds. The third movement is a sonata-rondo that opens with a gavotte theme from Mozart's opera Idomeneo. Girdlestone considers this movement to be very serious-minded. Like the first movement, it touches upon the minor; however, it ends confidently and triumphantly.
K.503 has long been neglected in favor of Mozart’s more “brilliant” concertos, such as K. 467. Though Mozart performed it on several occasions, it was not performed again in Vienna after Mozart’s death until 1934, and it only gained acceptance in the standard repertoire in the later part of the twentieth century.[3] However, it is now regarded as one of Mozart’s greatest works.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kennedy Center program notes (see [1] in References)
- ^ Steinberg (1998, 315)
- ^ Kennedy Center program notes
[edit] References
- [1]
- Steinberg, M. The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, Oxford (1998)
[edit] External links
- BBC Discovering Music (browse for .ram file for this work)
| Piano Concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
|---|
| 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 |
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