Help needed with Mozart piano concerto please

[inspired young pianist]

Hi,
I'm currently learning Mozart's 'Piano Concerto No.20 In D Minor, K.466', and was wondering if anyone could tell me what sort of keyboard Mozart would have written it for (i.e. piano, virginal, harpsichord etc.)
Also, does anyone else agree that it is prehaps one of his most beautiful works? I think it's FANTASTIC!!!!
Thanks for your help

[Kassaa]

I think he has written it for a piano, not for harpsichord.

[inspired young pianist]

Surely the piano wasn't developed as it is today though? What would the differences have been in terms of pedalling etc.?
 And would it have gone by the name pianoforte?
Thanks again

[kitty on the keys]

probably the forte-piano. I would look for recordings by Malcom Bilson on the forte-piano. But, if you are learning it on the piano, i would listen to the piano recordings.

kitty

ps.   This is one of my favorite concerti!

[inspired young pianist]

Ok thanks for that......next question. How would you recommend pedalling this concerto, and pedalling Mozart in general. I know that any pedalling would be very light, but I'm afraid I'm rather lazy and rely too much on the pedal to scrap it entirely. The contrasting middle section, especially is troubling me......Any suggestions?
Thanks
 

[pianistimo]

what i've read (as i haven't played the K 466 yet) is that it was the most loved pc by the romantics.  'the autograph manuscript was for some years in the possession of johannes brahms, who not only performed it but also wrote cadenzas for it.  beethoven, whose cadenzas are most often used today, did as well.'  exerpts from 'a history of the concerto' by dennis roeder.

i was facinated by all the cadenzas written by mozart (excuse the diversion) and decided to make my research paper on the cadenzas of mozart and those that seemed to most fit his type of compositon.  beethoven's are obviously quite wild in how far they migrate vs. some of the others.  murray perahia, ashkenasy and others have written really nice ones.  i think ashkenasy's was partly badura-skoda's if i remember right?  i have to look at my notes. 

anyway - as i see it - if one is to play mozart lightly and as 'like oil' - it would mean not overdoing anything.  cadenzas, pedalling, etc.  i think that is taste.  when you get too much romanticism in classicism - to me it ruins it.  like too much spice in a recipie. 

the 'romanza' is a five-part rondo (ABACA) with a surprising c-section (hmm) hospitalziation required?, in g minor, returning to the agitated mood that dominated the first movement.  mozart employs the very common thematic structure of aababa in the refrain A, which offers the opportunity of an interesting distribution of the theme's parts between soloist and orchestra.
a (piano) a(orchestra) b(piano) a(piano) b(orchestra) a(orchestra).

[pianistimo]

i have some more notes on the K466 from a class entitled 'the piano concerto.'  the romantics liked it because it was 'sturm und drangish.'  it has unusual syncopations right from the start in the strings. 

don't know if you've analyzed the first movement - but i have this analyzation that helps explain it better.  the opening actually starts with a prelude!  measures 1-15.  at measure 16 it has a bridge to measure 33 where there is the second (3 note) motive.  it is in F at this point.  at m. 44 you have a tutti - and stormy closing.  at measure 77 you have the piano solo (1st theme) which starts the exposition if i remember right.  m 91 tutti  m 95 1st theme figuration.  m 116 - second theme  m143 closing material.  m 174 development (tutti)  after this - the third tutti is the recapitulation (repeated d's - syncopated).

there's another analysis of the last movement in roeder's book. 

sorry to go on and on - but i'm interested in the the quality of mozart playing, too.  i think anything overdone sounds bad.  just a little pedal.  murray perahia does a great job.

[jamie0168]

As far as the pedalling, my teacher always suggests that I can play the Mozart piece with no pedal. If I can get the majority of the character and style that I want without the pedal, I simply add a little for extra color but it should sound close to ideatical of the piece without pedal.

[inspired young pianist]

Finally (and this is honestly the last question), how would you describe the mood, genre and general feel of this romanza? I only ask so that when playing it I can really be expressive and emotive. Any suggestions?
Thnx
xXx

[pianowolfi]

Afaik "pedal" was self-evident for Mozart in his fortepiano compositions. The difference: There was no pedal, but a knee-lever which had the same function. When you play on fortepianos you have to learn a kind of opposite "pedalling" technique because the dampers would go upwards if you rise the knee-lever. I'm sure that for Mozart himself the good taste was the criteria of how to use the "pedal". In one of Mozart's letters the knee-lever is mentioned as "Die Maschine wo man mit dem Knie drückt" (The Machine that is moved with the knee)

[ramseytheii]

Afaik "pedal" was self-evident for Mozart in his fortepiano compositions. The difference: There was no pedal, but a knee-lever which had the same function. When you play on fortepianos you have to learn a kind of opposite "pedalling" technique because the dampers would go upwards if you rise the knee-lever. I'm sure that for Mozart himself the good taste was the criteria of how to use the "pedal". In one of Mozart's letters the knee-lever is mentioned as "Die Maschine wo man mit dem Knie drückt" (The Machine that is moved with the knee)

Yes, the pianos at the time of Mozart had a pedal that you pushed up.  I am sure they used the pedal a lot, and to great effect.  If you ever have a chance to play on one of these instruments, you will discover that because of the lighter touch and faster decay, you can really use a lot of pedal without danger of blurring the notes.  Of course that is not true on our piano.  But why should Mozart go from note to note, without any sort of 'breathing' or 'echoing' from the pedal?  There is really no reason, especially when one considers the acoustics these concertos were concieved for: big, marble halls, with enormous resonance, despite being filled with people, and a slow decay.

Walter Ramsey