Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218, was composed by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

in 1775 in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. The autograph of the score is preserved in the

Biblioteka Jagiellońska Jagiellonian Library ( pl, Biblioteka Jagiellońska, popular nickname ''Jagiellonka'') is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the largest libraries in Poland, serving as a public lib ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. ISMN M-006-45797-7 He seemed to have originally composed it for himself to play, but after leaving the Salzburg Court Orchestra, he changed and updated the

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for the successor of his position in his orchestra,

Antonio Brunetti Antonio Brunetti (1744 – December 26, 1786) was an Italian violinist. Born in Naples, Brunetti took Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's position in Count Hieronymus von Colloredo's Salzburg court orchestra in 1776 after Mozart relinquished the pla ...

, to play. It is debatable whether the concerto was above Mozart's level of mastery or if he purposely made the concerto difficult for Brunetti on account of his greater ability. The first movement is nicknamed the “military” Mozart Concerto while the second movement consists of melodic lines. The third movement is joyful and full of fun.

Structure

The concerto has the usual fast–slow–fast structure and lasts around 23 minutes. The movements are: # Allegro # Andante cantabile (

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

) # Rondeau (Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo) Opening of the first movement, Allegro, featuring a march rhythm and a bugle-like gesture. \relative c'

References

External links

* * *, Hilary Hahn, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis 4 1775 compositions Compositions in D major {{concerto-stub