Concerto in B flat

Between 1773 and 1791, Mozart composed 21 concertos for keyboard and orchestra, two concertos for more than one piano and orchestra (see also work group 14b), and two individual rondo movements. In addition, a considerable number of fragments survive, representing short drafts of concerto movements that Mozart abandoned. The Salzburg concertos were not written specifically for the pianoforte, but the intended keyboard instrument is not indicated since Mozart used the rather nonspecific term “Cembalo” for the solo instrument until 1788, and several types of instruments were available.

In Vienna, Mozart became acquainted with the new, technically advanced pianofortes by Gabriel Anton Walter. In performances of the four concertos KV 413–415 and KV 449, the woodwinds are not obligatory. All further concertos employ woodwinds in manifold constellations. Shortly after 1800, all of Mozart’s keyboard concertos (except the Concerto in C, KV 246) were available in printed editions, reflecting their extraordinary popularity. Several concertos were expressly composed for Mozart’s students, particularly Barbara Ployer (KV 449, KV 453, and probably KV 488), or for female virtuosos like Louise-Victoire Jenamy (KV 271) or Maria Theresia Paradis (KV 456). While he usually improvised his own cadenzas and lead-ins, Mozart provided a large number of written cadenzas for his sister Maria Anna and his students (see Anhang G).