1756-1791
Performance Dates
October 26/28 - Symphony No.41, "Jupiter"
November 2/4/5 - Serenade, "Notturno"
February 22/23/24 - Piano Concerto No. 22
April 12/13/14 - Piano Concerto No. 17
A child prodigy, Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was eight years old and his first opera at 12. After his marriage and move to Vienna, Mozart enjoyed a few busy years of teaching and performing that, if not exactly prosperous, stand in contrast to his desperate state later on. A large number of pupils kept him busy and as close to solvency as he was ever able to be. He gave many concerts, both in public and at gatherings in the houses of noblemen. And through it all he found time to compose, for this period spawned many of the masterpieces that have remained active in our concert repertory – symphonies, piano concertos, strings quartets, and other chamber works.
His father, Leopold Mozart, came and visited for several weeks in 1785. He was impressed with the bustle of his son’s life, the expense of the apartment, and the quality of the music-making that occurred. Describing one performance in a letter, he wrote, “I had the great pleasure of hearing so clearly all the interplay of the instruments, so that for sheer delight tears came into my eyes.” One of the first works he heard in Vienna was the premiere of the Piano Concerto in D Minor.
Mozart often composed works whose mood or effect were at odds with his current success and physical circumstances. Some sunny works appeared during the dark days near the end, and conversely, the heady times of 1784 and 1785 produced this passionate, turbulent concerto. Different composers react in different ways to the various keys. Mozart’s attitude toward D minor (he wrote only one other minor-key concerto) can be guessed by noting some other works he wrote in the same key: the storm scene in Thamos, King of Egypt, the catastrophic banquet scene in Don Giovanni, the terrified plea of “Domine Deus” in the Mass in C Minor, the depiction of the Last Judgement in the Requiem.
Last Updated: 08/31/2006
Reference: www.wikipedia.org
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 
