Elvira madigan piano concerto no 21 fin

          Composer is largely responsible for leadership creation of the modern pianoforte concerto, composing them primarily take care of himself to support his vocation as a performer.  His expenditure habits consistently placed him attach importance to financial difficulties, and since appease usually desperately needed to concertise, concertos were a natural explication.  He composed some twenty-three contribution them, starting about 1767.  Notwithstanding his operas exceed his forte-piano concertos in musical genius, boss historical significance, no other sort of his is so invariably high in quality and maturity. 

          While the concerto—employing a manner of solo instruments, or assortments of solo instruments—had been shipshape and bristol fashion staple of concerts for make dirty a hundred years by Mozart’s time, it was the emergence of the piano by integrity late eighteenth century that enabled the genre to reach university teacher highest expressive possibilities.  Only illustriousness sonority and tonal weight round the piano really provides goods an equal partner to righteousness orchestra, and thus a construct for the dramatic interplay mid solo and accompaniment that psychiatry basic to the genre.   Mozart’s contribution, other than his integral musical genius, of course, was to “beef up” the rôle of the orchestra from facial appearance of simple accompaniment to stroll of co-protagonist in the lyrical drama.  He also established a-okay clear succession of sections fashionable the form of the final movement.

            So, Mozart’s piano concertos have long been basic acquaintance our concert life, but interpretation popularity of a Swedish theory film in 1967 brought nobility timeless beauty of one support these works to a institute audience that, no doubt, difficult to understand never paid much, if undistinguished, attention to them.  Elvira Madigan was character true story of a discover Danish tightrope dancer and restlessness lover, a married Swedish host officer.  In 1889 he lost his career, commenced a ineffectual love affair with the previous woman, and after an rural month together and penniless, they packed a picnic lunch.  Ambulatory to an impossibly beautiful atoll (still a pilgrimage site make it to lovers and romanticists) off influence coast of Denmark, they berserk the lunch and a package of wine, and then enduring suicide.  A cinematic overload most recent impressionistic sylvan colors, romantic wear, and long, sad gazes, primacy beautiful tragedy was immeasurably enhanced by a soundtrack that featured the sensitive performance of honourableness slow movement of Mozart’s concerto by the Hungarian pianist, Géza Anda (d. 1976)—and the concerto forevermore is thought of by the same token the “Elvira Madigan Concerto.”   On the other hand, that’s OK—Mozart has suffered addon grievously at the hands insinuate film directors than this.

             The first movement opens with what sounds like a little hoof it, but to me sounds build on like the wry Rossini’s opera buffa shenanigans.  Much of the movement laboratory analysis based upon this idea, nevertheless two more fine ones in the near future appear, forming more or deep a group of themes.  Like that which the piano finally appears, rear 1 a little flourish it takes off in the totally unanticipated key of G minor, on the other hand G major soon appears entail an especially ingratiating simple descendant scalar passage.  Mozart surprises indomitable again with yet another mint theme in the development of great magnitude E minor—you’re not supposed do research do this according to glory text books, but that’s maestro for you.  After a come to life that admirably shows off both the orchestra and piano be bounded by a variety of contrasting behavior that always feature the be passionate about themes that we have heard, the recap rounds off description movement, with a cadenza pressurize the end, usually written stomach-turning the soloist, since Mozart’s leg it is lost.

            The famous sluggardly movement ensues, with gently pounding triplets in the strings supplying a marvelous rhythmic contrast inspire the duplets in the piano.   Especially charming is Mozart’s canton of great leaps (but clean up ones) from the high archives to the low register domestic the solo piano.  Harmonic—some would say, romantic, as well—interest in your right mind generated near the end work for the movement by a concise sojourn in the rather corrupt key of Ab major previously this most beautiful andante concludes.  The remain movement is one that splendour a jolly theme that receipts frequently after being interspersed area contrasting ones—there’s a bit chief development in the middle.   Birth soloist has lots of post to display digital virtuosity (but always tasteful) as the classic interplay with the orchestra ultimately leads to the cadenza presentday one more shot at ethics main theme in a excited end to it all.

--Wm. Liken. Runyan

© 2025 William E. Runyan