The Quintet in E major for Piano and Winds, K. 452, 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 ...

on March 30, 1784 and premiered two days later at the Imperial and Royal National Court Theater in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Shortly after the premiere, Mozart wrote to his father that "I myself consider it to be the best thing I have written in my life." It is scored for

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, clarinet,

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

and bassoon.

Music

There are three movements: The first movement is in

sonata form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...

. It opens with a slow

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

, marked ''Largo''. After the slow section cadences on a B

dominant chord In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So ...

with a

fermata A fermata (; "from ''fermare'', to stay, or stop"; also known as a hold, pause, colloquially a birdseye or cyclops eye, or as a grand pause when placed on a note or a rest) is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be ...

(where the pianist will often improvise an ''eingang''), the movement's main

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

appears featuring solo piano and is taken up by the

winds Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

a few bars later. The theme appears in the

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

with the piano in A major, B minor, C minor, and then in C major by the oboe. The movement ends with two E major chords. The second movement is often marked ''Larghetto'', but the indication is missing from the autograph. The opening theme is played by the winds at the beginning of the movement but by the piano in the recapitulation. The development, after spending one bar on a German augmented sixth chord with a root of C, abruptly goes into the distant key of E minor for one bar, and four bars later, ends up back in the home B major. The third movement, marked ''Allegretto'', is a five-part

rondo The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

(in A-B-A-C-A form), with the primary theme played first by piano solo and then by the winds shortly thereafter. After the B section, which is primarily in B major, the A returns for a second time. Towards the end of the C section, the piano and winds play a E major I chord with a fermata, prompting a cadenza. Unlike the concerti Mozart wrote in this time period, this cadenza is played by all five instruments of the quintet. It is not until some time of cadenza-like material has passed that the third appearance of A is heard. After many bars of piano, the movement ends on two tutti E major chords. The finale of the piece was rewritten by a person other than Mozart, but since the autograph is accessible, the attempted forgery was discovered and corrected. This piece was allegedly the inspiration for the Quintet in E for Piano and Winds, Op. 16 by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, who composed this tribute in 1796. The compositions share their key and scoring. In 1995, French composer

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (; 23 May 1912, in Le Mans – 25 September 1997, in Paris) was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator, known for his prolific output and vibrant style. Life Françaix's natural gifts were encour ...

(1912-1997) arranged the quintet to a '' Nonetto'' for nine instruments (oboe, clarinet in B, horn in E, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass), reworking the piano part for the strings.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * *

External links

* * {{Authority control Chamber music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart 1784 compositions Compositions in E-flat major