Concerto in C minor
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The Piano concerto in C minor, KV 491 is one of only two concertos by Mozart in a minor key and only one of three piano concertos with clarinets. The original manuscript shows that Mozart thoroughly revised the piano part in all three movements after completing the composition; however, he did not revise the orchestral part everywhere during the revision.
The slow movement is a Romance in which the winds play an important role, the final movement is—as in the Piano concerto in G, KV 453—a variation movement.
Did you know that Mozart probably wrote the Piano concerto in C minor, KV 491 for one of his pupils and not for himself? Although the background to its composition and first performance is unknown, there are four caricatures of a man’s head in the autograph towards the end of the first movement. Such drawings in Mozart’s hand are otherwise only known from the teaching materials of his student Barbara Ployer.
Between 1773 and 1791, Mozart composed a total of 21 concertos for piano and orchestra, two concertos for two or three pianos (see Work Group 14b), and two standalone rondo movements. In addition, there is a considerable number of mostly short fragments of concerto movements that Mozart abandoned. The Salzburg concertos were not yet composed for the fortepiano, and the intended keyboard instrument is not specified; various types of instruments—organ, harpsichord, tangent piano—were available. Up until 1788, Mozart used the general term "harpsichord" (*Cembalo*) for the solo instrument. In Vienna, Mozart became acquainted with the technically advanced fortepianos made by Gabriel Anton Walter. In performances of the four concertos K. 413–415 and K. 449, woodwinds are not mandatory. In all other Viennese concertos, woodwinds are employed in many different configurations. By shortly after 1800, all of Mozart’s piano concertos (except for the Concerto in C, K. 246) had been published, which attests to their extraordinary popularity. Several concertos were specifically composed for Mozart’s female students, especially Barbara Ployer, or for virtuosas such as Louise-Victoire Jenamy and Maria Theresia Paradis. While Mozart usually improvised cadenzas and lead-ins, he wrote out a large number of them for his sister and for his students (see Appendix G).
Autograph, 1786
Partitur: 37 Bl. (73 beschr. S.)
Abschrift, 1800
[Kopftitel?: ] Concerto per il Cembalo o Forte Piano. 2 Violini. Viole/ e Baßi 1 Flauto 2 Oboe 2 Clarinetti in B 2 Corni in E/ 2 Fagotti 2 Clarini in C Tympani in C./ Del Sig: Amad: Wolfgang Mozart.
Stimmen
Erstdruck, 1800
[handschriftliche Zeile:] N=o 3./ des six grands concertos/ pour le Piano_Forté/ composés par/ W. A. MOZART,/ & respectueusement dédiés/ à S. A. R. le Prince/ Louis Ferdinand/ de Prusse/ par l'editeur./ Oeuvre 82./ [links:] N=o 1415-20. [rechts:] Prix. 3]/ Edition faite d'après la partition en manuscrit./ A Offenbach s/m, chés J. André.
Stimmen: 63 S.