While rondos very often are lighthearted mashups of popular song and dance themes, Mozart’s Rondo in a minor, K. 511, infuses this most vernacular of musical forms with uncommonly tragic poignancy. Written in 1787 following a trip to Prague, its principal theme is a plaintive lament that may have been inspired by the death of the composer’s friend, Count August von Hatzfeld.
Modeled after an operatic lament, the main melody consists of a slowly rising chromatic scale, ascending in a processional rhythm against the static bass. Chromaticism and flashes of Sturm und Drang (‘storm and drive’), define the principal material, with stark dynamic contrasts and dark harmonic colors. These sections alternate with contrasting episodes of airy, blissful material in major keys. At one point, an alarmingly dissonant and tortured bridge section leads back to the main theme, and we are privy to Mozart’s most adventurous and forward-looking compositional style, one that could quite believably be attributed to Schumann or even Chopin. David Kaplan
Classical Music | Piano Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rondo in A minor, K. 511
PlayRecorded on 12/02/2015, uploaded on 07/11/2016
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
While rondos very often are lighthearted mashups of popular song and dance themes, Mozart’s Rondo in a minor, K. 511, infuses this most vernacular of musical forms with uncommonly tragic poignancy. Written in 1787 following a trip to Prague, its principal theme is a plaintive lament that may have been inspired by the death of the composer’s friend, Count August von Hatzfeld.
Modeled after an operatic lament, the main melody consists of a slowly rising chromatic scale, ascending in a processional rhythm against the static bass. Chromaticism and flashes of Sturm und Drang (‘storm and drive’), define the principal material, with stark dynamic contrasts and dark harmonic colors. These sections alternate with contrasting episodes of airy, blissful material in major keys. At one point, an alarmingly dissonant and tortured bridge section leads back to the main theme, and we are privy to Mozart’s most adventurous and forward-looking compositional style, one that could quite believably be attributed to Schumann or even Chopin. David Kaplan
More music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lacrimosa from Requiem K. 626
Rondo in D Major, K. 485
Soave sia il vento, from Così fan tutte
Hostias from Requiem K.626
Sonata in D Major
Concerto No.21 Do major 2nd moviment
12 Variations in C Major on “Ah, vous dirai-je Maman” K. 265
Benedictus from Requiem K. 626
Piano Concerto 12 KV 414 (1ºmov)
Piano Sonata No. 8 in a minor, K 310
Performances by same musician(s)
Rite of Spring
Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26
Capriccio in g minor, Op. 116, No. 3, from Seven Fantasies
Intermezzo in E Major, Op. 116, No. 6, from Seven Fantasies
Bagatelle no.5 Allegro ma non troppo in C major, from 7 Bagatelles, Op. 33
Chanson de Matin, Op. 15, No. 2
Bagatelle no.7 Presto in A-flat major, from 7 Bagatelles, Op. 33
Bagatelle no.3 Allegretto in F major, from 7 Bagatelles, Op. 33
Bagatelle no.4 Andante in A major, from 7 Bagatelles, Op. 33
Variations on a Theme by Paganini
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