1788: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major

SUNDAY, February 23, 2020

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major,

K. 537 – “Coronation” – K. 537 (1788)…

This is Mozart’s second to last piano concerto. It was completed on 24 February 1788.

I don’t like things that are incomplete, so I’m going to find and present every concerto, but this one to me is rather boring and not at all original. Unlike Beethoven, Mozart would write incredibly profound music one moment, then toss off something in almost no time that was far below his best. I would say that for Mozart this was a rather weak effort.

Instruments:

Solo piano, one flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpano (in D, A), and strings.

Origin of the nickname…

The nickname “Coronation” was because he played this concerto at the time of the coronation of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor in October 1790 in Frankfurt am Main.

Part of it would today be called a “fake sheet”.

There is a very unusual feature to this concerto. In addition to omitting the tempi for two of the movements, Mozart did not write any notes for the piano’s left hand in a great many measures throughout the work. There is no other Mozart piano concerto with parts of solo partleft unfinished by the composer. The missing parts are quite obvious and easily filled in, but this was still very unusual.

Maria João Alexandre Barbosa Pires (23 July 1944 – present)…

This is the same great pianist as in the last concerto, but here she is much young. This goes back to 1975.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvrich2Tyw&feature=youtu.be&t=12s

Leave a Comment

Scroll to Top