MOZART — Sonata in C minor, K. 457

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonata No. 14 in C minor, K. 457
Micah McLaurin, piano

Performed on Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Field Concert Hall, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

0:00 Molto Allegro
4:30 Adagio
11:20 Allegro assai

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is rightly considered one of the great masters of the classical style, due in large part to the fact that he constantly looked forward, pushing the boundaries of the classical galant style that was prevalent in his time. Even experienced listeners can be surprised by passages in Mozart’s works that foreshadow the innovations of Ludwig van Beethoven, who was responsible for fully establishing the Romantic style of music several decades after Mozart’s death.

Many of Mozart’s forward-looking works sound typically classical, but include a twist in one aspect, such as form, harmony, or development techniques. A well-known example is the Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”), which opens with an unexpected series of harmonies that represented a bold departure from the simpler harmonic style of the day. The Piano Sonata in C minor is also a harmonic experiment of sorts. In Mozart’s time, composers rarely wrote chamber music in minor keys—of his 18 piano sonatas, Mozart composed just two in minor keys—and along with the choice of a minor key, he imbued this sonata with an aggressive, passionate expression that departs from the prevailing serenity of his earlier sonatas. This impassioned mode of expression would later become a key element of the Romantic style as developed by Beethoven.

While Mozart composed several works that prefigure Beethoven’s innovations, the C-minor Sonata is especially closely linked to Beethoven through the famous “Pathétique” Sonata, Op. 13. In the slow movement of the “Pathéthique,” Beethoven referenced the slow movement of Mozart’s C-minor Sonata with a near-verbatim quotation. Not only was Beethoven aware of the earlier sonata, but he had clearly studied it in detail, and perhaps took some inspiration from Mozart’s experimental works as he strove to further expand the boundaries of the classical style.

Видео MOZART — Sonata in C minor, K. 457 канала Curtis Institute of Music