a mozart concerto

[letters]

if someone (like me) had never played a mozart concerto, what would be the best one to begin with? i have done grade 8 but i suspect they are all quite hard. i have dabbled in concerto in c, the one with the famous second movement, but i would like a different one.

[pianistimo]

many of the early concertos seem to be just a touch easier than the later viennese concertos.  the rondo in D (Allegretto grazioso) K 382 has a cadenza that is one page and the concerto in B-flat K238 has cadenzas that are 1/2 page.  whatever mozart concerto you choose - make sure, imo - that it has a mozart cadenza.  play two or three concertos that have mozart's own cadenzas - before starting to improvise your own or borrow others.  this gives you a flavor for how to play the ones WITHOUT cadenzas. 

the jeunehomme is a beautiful concerto - but the cadenzas are very long.  that's the K 271.    maybe it just depends on what you like as you listen to all of them (no matter the time frame and when composed). 

[pianistimo]

guess that the rondo in D isn't a stand alone piece as i thought, but written by mozart as a replacement 3rd movement for the K175 (concerto #5).  anyway, i have the barenreiter urtext cadenzas for all those that mozart wrote and at least you know from looking at that which concertos would HAVe cadenzas.  this is important to me - as a beginning mozart piano concerto student, too - to first play the complete versions that are available. 

some of the cadenzas written by others for mozart don't sound as good.  even beethoven's.  it's like hearing mozart and then definately beethoven.  he wanders a lot into different keys and isn't as short and sweet in his cadenzas as mozart.  so, the cadenzas sound out-of-place, imo.

wish i had more time to just diddle on this - but have to get to cleaning out our old car to donate to science (oops.  i mean veterans).  we have this old old car that doesn't even drive straight anymore.  the steering column is (what shoud i say) crooked.  you have to hold the steering wheel at an angle to get it to drive straight.  this has nothing to do with mozart but everything to do with putting a different cadenza into mozart that doesn't fit.   

[sauergrandson]

I guess you could try 11 or 12.

[sharon_f]

I guess you could try 11 or 12.

I second #12 (K. 414). It was my second concerto (after Haydn D major). It has a gorgeous slow movement.

[arensky]

I second #12 (K. 414). It was my second concerto (after Haydn D major). It has a gorgeous slow movement.

I third it!    K.467 is REALLY hard for Mozart, best to start with an easier concerto as an introduction to this extraordinary art form, the Mozart Piano Concerto.

You could also try #14 in Eb K.449 or #26 in D, K.537 "Coronation"

[superstition2]

Jeunehomme, No. 9, E flat

a great piece...

[teresa_b]

Hi letters,

Having played 5 of the Mozart concertos and dabbled in several others, I can give you a pretty good idea. 

No 9 in E-flat (K 271) is great, but a little more difficult than it looks at first. 

No 14 in E-flat (K449) first movement is not too hard, but WATCH OUT for the 3rd movement--to me, much more technically tricky than I had thought. 

  :)No 17 in G major (K453)  This one is gorgeous!  And not really too difficult--again 3rd movement has a few trouble spots.

No 12 in A--nice.  No 23 in A--very nice, but difficult in 3rd movement.

Have fun!
Teresa

[espressivo]

I know this is echoing everyone else, but #9, #12, and #14 are all lovely concertos. #9 is one of my favorites. The second movement is very expressive with a sad, yearning quality to it - and the third movement is great fun to play. I always get really into it. None of them present any major technical difficulties that you can't work through - but of course, being Mozart, they take a lot of work to play well.

Also I agree with pianistimo. I don't like the Beethoven cadenzas. It's very obvious that you've stopped playing Mozart and started playing Beethoven. It gets really bad with the d minor concerto - drives me crazy because the first movement is incredible and then all of a sudden Beethoven comes crashing in with dissonant, unpleasant sounds and I really don't like all those loud scales and transition trills at the end - that's not how Mozart uses trills at all. Anyway...forgive my rant. I just don't think Mozart and Beethoven go together.

Have fun playing the concertos!

[letters]

thanks everyone for the advice! i might try this G major one that teresa suggested, that sounds nice. and also number 12. and i hope you fix your car pianistimo

[franzliszt2]

I'm performing no.12 in july, and it is a great concerto. I find Mozart very hard, you are on your own. When playing a Rach cocnerto or Liszt or summit, you can get away with lots, but in mozart you can't, and that makes it very difficult.

I find it really enjoyable sitting learning learning Mozart concerto's, not like Rcahmaninoff!!!! They fit nicely under fingers, and you work on supple things, and NOT blazing octaves and silly chords that take forever to learn

[teresa_b]

thanks everyone for the advice! i might try this G major one that teresa suggested, that sounds nice. and also number 12. and i hope you fix your car pianistimo

Listen to each one and decide based on how much you love it!  I think I adore the G Major (K453) the most of all the ones everyone has mentioned.   It has lovely cadenzas by Mozart, and is a real masterpiece.

Teresa

[anda]

i think #8 is the easiest one (that's c dur, kv 246, lutzow concert). also, all 3 chamber concerts (kv 413, 414, 415) are quite manageable. try sight-reading and listening these also, see what suites you best.

best luck

[mikey6]

At your level, my teacher gave me no.19 k459 Fmaj.  It was my first concerto too.  It's not terribly tricky (unless you want to perfect it, then it's rather difficult of course!), it has a gorgeous slow movement and arguably the greatest last movement Mozart ever wrote (in the concertos).

[turner]

At the risk of sounding repetitious, No. 12-K414 is a beautiful work. But please consider No. 11-K413 in F Major, which is no less beautiful. The last movement is a lyrical minuet. I don't like No. 13-K415 in C Maj as much.

Of the middle period concertos, I am familiar with and enjoy Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 19. Of these, No. 15 is generally considered the most difficult.  I'm not as fond of, and familiar with, Nos. 16 and 18.

[pianistimo]

mikey6 may have a good point about piano concerto #19 K 459 in F major...because i remember my teacher from 'the piano concerto' class saying he thought that one was one of the better ones to begin on.  comes back to me now.  also, he said for a good recording of a cadenza for the third movement would be the english chamber orchestra with bilson? playing.  don't remember if this was the mozart cadenza or an extemporized one.

[pianistimo]

the one you picked, K 543 looks good too.  i vaguely remember a few things.  something about a 'toy march' kind of sound in the beginning.  the first theme comes in with the first violins at measure one.  the second theme at measure 42 with the winds.  (bridge between measures 13? to 42)  what is interesting is that there is no modulation if you go by the chords in the IIviolins and others.  there does seem to be some wandering, though throughout the second theme (rich harmonic vocabulary, as he put it)  there's a common tone modulation on the first beat of m 49.  the expo closes at 73 and the piano comes in (double expo) with the same theme as the violins had but modulates with the second theme at measure 132 to D major.  i think the transition is at measure 109 where it starts establishing the dominant in preparation for D major.  lots of closing material at measure 144 and beyond.  the cliche trill in preparation for the development is at measure 163 and always starts on the note above.  the development at measure 164 is in D major , too.  there is a lot of rapid changes of keys.  by measure 177 it is in Bb then at measure 185 in a minor.  starting a m. 190 there is a descending semi-chromatic scale.  moves to B major at m 196.  then c minor at m 204.  g minor at m 213 and back to G major at the recap m 219 (with I violin). 

anyway, if you decide on this  piece for sure, i can give you the rest of the analysis that i have written in my book.

[letters]

thanks again guys! i think i will definitely have to search out some recordings (i looked but we didnt have any at home) and find which one seems suitable. Im not going to perform it or anything, ive a concerto lined up to perform anyway (shostakovich 2) but i thought it was an important thing to try.