4 Reasons Why Piano Concerto No. 22 Radiated Mozart’s Genius and Character
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 is a bundle of innovation and creativity, from evolved orchestration to a developed form of instrumental storytelling—a fitting work to open the NJSO’s 2019 Winter Festival, “Music Speaks.” Mozart’s undeniable gift of euphony is ever present in this concerto.
Here is a list of four things that make this work so very special:
1. Clarinets!
Mozart brought forth the best out of every instrument. The clarinet, however, has a great case in being Mozart’s “spirit” instrument. This is the first Mozart piano concerto that includes clarinets. There are countless passages that express Mozart’s smooth integration of the instrument into this work. Here is an uplifting melody supported by so much activity in the piano and rest of the orchestra.
2. Wind sectionals
The inclusion of the clarinets points to a greater attention to the wind instruments in general. This time in Mozart’s life was specifically prolific in composing for wind instruments. With a broader wind section to balance the strings, Mozart makes them a powerful player in the narrative. Listen to how Mozart gives this exquisite motive to the winds after the piano introduces it. When the strings take it up, there is still a balance among all parties. Also, note the gentle technique of pianist Emanuel Ax, the same pianist who will join the NJSO Jan 10–13!
3. The second movement that demanded an encore
Mozart was delighted to write his father and inform him that the audience had requested an encore of the second movement. His father was presumably impressed, calling it a “rather unusual occurrence.” Listen to this beautiful passage from the second movement—it swells and builds more momentum each time it sounds like it’s coming to a close.
4. The dramatic storytelling influence of opera
Mozart worked on this concerto while composing his opera The Marriage of Figaro. There are parallels in the endings of these works, including a similar sequence of events in both. Mozart takes a long moment of respite in the middle of flourishing action. At the end of the opera, that respite comes in the form of a humble request for forgiveness, but in this concerto, it appears as an ambient minuet. The interval is an unexacting, but welcoming, relief in a purely instrumental form.
First, hear the end of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro:
Now, hear the end of the concerto (and notice that the clarinets are again Mozart’s go-to instrument for the melody):
Don’t miss this dynamic piece with superstar pianist Emanuel Ax and the NJSO Jan 10–13, during the opening weekend of the 2019 Winter Festival!
Post by Michael Rosin