Presentation No.

1 – Thiago Andre

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major
K. 175, 1773

Genre: Piano Concerto

Movements:

1. Allegro: Concerto sonata-form

2. Andante ma un poco adagio: Concerto sonata-form (without development)
3. Allegro: Concerto sonata-form

Modern Edition:

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175. Ed. Marius Flothuis.
Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972.

Recording:

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Concerto No. 5 for Piano and Orchestra, K. 175. Murray Perahia –
English Chamber Orchestra. England: Sony Music Entertainment, 1982,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbXXHl5XBU

Literature:

Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music Ninth
edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014.

Eisen, Cliff, and Stewart Spencer. Mozart: a life in letters. England: Penguin Books, 2007.

Irving, John. Mozart’s Piano Concertos. England: Ashgate, 2003.

Hepokoski, James, and Warren Darcy. Elements of Sonata Theory: Forms, Types and
Deformations in the Late Eighteenth-Century Sonata. New York: Oxford University Press,
2006.

Sadie, Stanley. The new grove dictionary of music and musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers
Limited, 1980.

Zaslaw, Neal, and William Cowdery. The compleat Mozart: a guide to the musical works of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. New York: London, 1990.
Historical Background:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father returned from Italy to Salzburg in March of
1773. This year was very intense for Mozart, since he was travelling often to Vienna and
composing several pieces for different ensembles. His visits to Vienna and the close contact with
Joseph Haydn’s compositions (in particular the string quartets) seems to have stimulated an
intensification in Mozart’s style1. In September of 1773, Mozart returned from Vienna to Salzburg
and after he composed several symphonies, he composed his first piano concerto, No. 5 in D major,
K. 175. The instrumentation for this concerto was set up in a strings section, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2
trumpets, and timpani.
Due to the incredible success and public’s affection, the Piano Concerto No. 5 was one
piece that Mozart always played in many of his tours. After a tour in Munich in 1774, Mozart
wrote a letter to his father saying: “I played my old Concerto in D major, because it is such a
favorite here.2” Although Mozart performed this piece in several places, it was in Vienna that this
concerto had the most striking success, especially during the Lenten ‘academies’(concerts), that
were organized by Mozart or by others3.
In 1782, Mozart revived this work and wrote a new finale, the Rondo K. 382. In this new
movement, he added a flute part. Furthermore, Mozart in one of his letters relates: “I gave a concert
yesterday at the theatre and I played my Concerto. The theatre was very full; (…) I’d already left
but they wouldn’t stop clapping – so I had to repeat the rondo; - there was a veritable torrent of
applause. – This is a good advertisement for my own concert, which I am giving on Sunday 23
March.4” The evident success of this concerto was the reason why Mozart kept this piece in his
repertoire for so long. The renovation in this movement suggests a sign that Mozart understood
that, although the concerto had an undeniable charm, the early version of this movement was not
enough to capture the attention of the Viennese audience5.

1
Stanley Sadie, The new grove dictionary of music and musicians (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1980),
690.
2
Neal Zaslaw and William Cowdery, The compleat Mozart: a guide to the musical works of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart (New York: London, 1990), 120.
3
John Irving, Mozart’s Piano Concertos (England: Ashgate, 2003), 174.
4
Cliff Eisen and Stewart Spencer, Mozart: a life in letters (England: Penguin Books, 2007), 460.
5
Irving, Mozart’s Piano Concertos, 174.
 Another important note is that although the concerto is called No. 5, the Köchel Catalogue
refers to this piece as “Mozart’s first piano concerto.6” This is considered the first, because his
previous four piano concerti were based on works by other composers.

First movement
The first movement is written in Concerto Sonata-form with a double exposition and has
238 measures. The first exposition starts with a tutti from the orchestra and it is presenting the
primary theme in the tonic (D major) in forte dynamic level. This opening is characterized by a
constant sense of forward motion and a festive atmosphere.

6
Zaslaw and Cowdery, The compleat Mozart, 119.
 Figure 2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 5 K. 175, I. Allegro, mm 1-4.
(ed. Marius Flothuis. Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972)

The secondary theme of the orchestra is presented in the tonic (D major). Usually in a
regular sonata form, the secondary theme goes to the dominant, however, it does not happen in
concerto sonata form7.
The Second Exposition starts in measure 33, with the piano and strings executing the
festive primary theme in the tonic. The right-hand of the piano executes the same melody of the
first violins, while the left hand executes a sort of alberti bass, creating a homophonic texture. The
way that Mozart had the piano and first violins playing the same melodic material is something
that he never did again.8 Figure 3 presents the entrance of the piano part in the second exposition
with highlighter.

Figure 3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 5 K. 175, I. Allegro, mm 29-
33. (ed. Marius Flothuis. Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972)

Measure 48 is the beginning of the transition part, that has a quick tutti from the orchestra,
and it is possible to observe that Mozart uses new thematic material in the soloist part. According
to Zaslaw and Cowdery, Mozart realized the dramatic potential of new solo material in the

7
James Hepokoski, Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory: Forms, Types and Deformations in the Late
Eighteenth-Century Sonata (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 447
8
Zaslaw and Cowdery, The compleat Mozart, 120.
regulation of structure and it is an important moment of articulation in the evolving form9. Thus,
the addition of new material reinforces the focal point of the solo part.
This transition increases tension throughout the measures. According to Hepokoski and
Darcy, the transition part is characterized by “an energy-gaining zone, that leads to a mid-
expositional break.10” The presence of the orchestra in this section helps to build this energy in
consonance with the harmonic progression. The piano part also uses the sixteen-notes, that are
responsible for creating this forward motion. Similarly, the texture of this section increases over
time, achieves energy, and creates a busy atmosphere. The mid-expositional break happens in
measure 65, when the whole orchestra executes the same rhythm followed by a rest. This moment
marks the medial caesura that works as a brief and reinforced break or gap that divides an
exposition in two parts, tonic and dominant11.
The secondary theme starts in the dominant in measure 66. The material presented in this
section is also more elaborated when compared to the secondary theme in the First Exposition. In
this section, Mozart further explores the alternation between the hands in the piano part. Figure 5
shows the comparison between the two hands of the piano.

Figure 5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 5 K. 175, I. Allegro, mm 72-75.
(ed. Marius Flothuis. Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972)

9
Irving, Mozart’s Piano Concertos, 44.
10
Hepokoski and Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory, 18.
11
Hepokoski and Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory, 24
 The Development starts in measure 112 with the piano part using trills in the right-hand
and the albert bass in the left-hand. Furthermore, Mozart alternates the hands of the piano and uses
the violins to double the piano’s melody in this first part of the Development. Figure 6 uses
highlighters to better understand this idea.

Figure 6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 5 K. 175, I. Allegro, mm 114-
117. (ed. Marius Flothuis. Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972)

The constant conversation between orchestra and soloist is emphasized in the

Development. The orchestra usually works as an accompaniment, however, there are several
moments when the orchestra assumes a quick tutti or doubles the piano melody. The Development
section tends to be sectional and presents several fragments from previous material. Irving also
comments that the Development section is responsible for a series of modulation through a range
of keys and culminates in a dominant preparation for the eventual return of the primary theme in
the recapitulation12. The orchestra, piano, and the rest present in measure 142 create a harmonic
interruption, which gives the idea that the dominant apparently is not resolved by the tonic.
According to Hepokoski and Darcy, the typical cadence present in a conclusion of the
Development section brings us to a harmonic interruption and the next cycle of events is launched
with the opening of the Recapitulation13. Figure 7 shows the harmonic interruption and beginning
of the Recapitulation section.

12
Irving, Mozart’s Piano Concertos, 47.
13
Hepokoski and Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory, 19.
 Figure 7. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 5 K. 175, I. Allegro, mm 142-
145. (ed. Marius Flothuis. Germany: Bärenreiter Kassel, 1972)

The Recapitulation starts in measure 143 with the three-bar tutti. The orchestra presents
the beginning of the primary theme in the tonic (D major) and a few measures later the piano
assumes the primary theme.
The cadenza is characterized by fast passages and shows the skills of the soloist. The soloist
needs to execute scales, arpeggios, and material related to the themes. The cadenza concludes
using a long trill with a dominant-7th that creates the necessary tension to connect to the tutti, which
has the festive character, uses the same elements presented before, and marks the beginning of the
closing theme.
Several of Mozart’s concerti do not have a written cadenza. It is easy to find cadenzas for
Mozart’s concerti that were written for another composer. It is unclear to say that the cadenza in
this concerto was written by Mozart. This concerto was published in Paris around 1785, after the
concept of the new Finale (Rondo). In addition, according to Zaslaw and Cowdery, in February
1783, Mozart sent cadenzas for the first two movements along with a brief cadenza for the new
Finale to his sister.14 Considering the chronological order, it is possible to imagine that Mozart
published this piece using his original cadenzas.
The second movement has a lyricism that is noticeable in other second movements of
Mozart’s piano concerti. This movement has the concerto sonata-form tendency; however, it does
not use the Development section. Mozart writes a dominant pedal creating a connective passage
that leads to a cadence before presenting the primary theme in the Recapitulation. Overall, this
“quasi-Development” section connects the Exposition and the Recapitulation. The cadenza present
in this movement is short and more lyrical, which contrasts with the cadenza in the previous
movement. The calm energy present in the trills, does not create the expected tension and brings
the orchestra back executing the lyrical theme.
The third movement is also written in a concerto Sonata-form. The constant contrast of the
long notes in the wind-section, vivacious piano part, and melodic material present in the strings
section, helps create an energetic and similar forward motion that is present in the first movement.
Different from the first movement, Mozart explores more of the piano part, which has more
original melodic material that gives a bigger focus to the soloist. Thus, it is really rare to observe
a spot when the piano repeats the orchestra material. The cadenza keeps the same energy that was
achieved through the piece and delivers the tutti for the orchestra to conclude in Mozart’s usual
style. Although the Rondo K. 382 was intended to be executed instead of this movement,
nowadays, it is common for orchestras, editors, and pianists to use the original third movement
and use the Rondo K. 382 as a separated piece.
When you compare Mozart’s earliest piano concerti, it is clear that they are close
adaptations of another composer’s pieces and have relatively simple orchestral and piano parts. In
contrast, Mozart’s final few works in the genre hint at the passion and power that would become
popular in the beginning of the 19th century. Thus, considering the entire range of this work, it
shows how the classical concerto and Mozart’s styles have developed throughout the years.

14
Zaslaw and Cowdery, The compleat Mozart, 120.