Between 1786 and 1787 Mozart composed three rondos for piano. Written just past the age of thirty, they nevertheless correspond to a creative period of maturity, for only that can be said of an author who died at thirty-five. The works are simultaneous to the composition of two of his great successes in the opera genre: The Marriage of Figaro, of 1786, and Don Giovanni, of 1787, which certainly brought him economic benefits, but not enough. The publication of the rondos, short works for piano in which his pupils could venture, also had the purpose of restoring Wolfgang Amadeus' finances.
The Rondo Form
From baroque to classicism, the rondo musical form (derived from the French rondeau) maintained a continuous presence, first as part of baroque suites, and then in classicism as the last movement of the classical sonata (the third movement of Beethoven's Pathétique sonata is a clear example). But it was also developed by composers as an autonomous piece, as is the case of the one we are dealing with. Its structure is based on the repetition of a main theme that reappears and alternates with other subthemes, or variants, hence its name.
Rondo in D major, K. 485
Thanks to the catalog in which Mozart decided to record his works from 1784 onwards, we know with certainty that the rondo in D major, the first of the three mentioned, was completed on January 10, 1786. As was usual in those years, Mozart "borrowed" the main melody from a colleague, if not master, Johann Christian Bach, known in those years and today as "the Bach of London", whom Mozart met and visited twice when he was not yet ten years old.
The melody is joyful and elegant. After some modifications that give it another thickness, it reappears at times in its original form. A typical and charming classical rondo. It could not be less if it came out of Mozart's mind.
The melody is joyful and elegant. After some modifications that give it another thickness, it reappears at times in its original form. A typical and charming classical rondo. It could not be less if it came out of Mozart's mind.
The rendition is by the Russian master Vladimir Horowitz, in 1987 in Vienna, at age 84.
(At the beginning, the maestro seems to practice a few chords to "warm up", or asks the audience to remain silent).
(At the beginning, the maestro seems to practice a few chords to "warm up", or asks the audience to remain silent).
