Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-flat Major, KV 450

At the age of 11, Amadeus began composing piano concertos that would give him the opportunity to shine as a pianist and perform them himself. Officially his concertos number 27, but there is another unfinished one without a finale. The composer's most prolific period in this genre was between 1782-1786. A famous letter to his father Leopold tells of his 'Viennese' piano concertos: 'They are something between very difficult and very easy, there is brilliance in them, they are pleasing to the ear, but of course without being idle - some places can only satisfy the connoisseur, but even the incompetent will like them, even if they cannot understand why'... For Mozart, Vienna is "the city of the piano". Nowhere else, indeed, was there so much piano music being written, performed and published at that time, nor so many good piano masters and so many fine instruments. Their new possibilities were a challenge to the musician. Eyewitnesses say: 'Mozart's performance captivated every listener and established him as the greatest harpsichordist of our time', 'he played gently and tastefully, without repeating himself, always in a different way, following the momentary inspiration of his genius'. The Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major, K. 450 was completed on March 15^th, 1784. Early that same year he began to organize his own "academies," public concerts by subscription or paid admission. Concerto No. 15 was part of a group of six concertos intended to be performed in certain Viennese theatres and casinos with Mozart as soloist and conductor. It was premiered on 24 March 1784 at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Two months later, after completing the next concerto (No. 16), he described to Leopold his delight at the large role of the wind instruments in the two works. The expanded orchestra led him to list them among his "big" concertos. And further, "I find that these two concertos make me sweat a lot while I play them, but the B-flat major is more complicated." It is tricky indeed, and Amadeus has put a lot of his brilliant virtuoso technique into it, including in the reserved cadenzas. The concerto is in the usual three movements. The two final fast movements, sparkling with joy, are a whirlwind of fast solo passages, ascending and descending arpeggios, chords interwoven skilfully and organically with the florid orchestra. The sophisticated middle slow movement is constructed on a chorale theme with two variations.