(program)
Funk & Wagnalls recording, printed in Canada
W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Piano Concerto No.27 in b Flat (1791)
Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, conducted by Paul Angerer. Soloist: Alfred Brendel
Piano Concerto No.27
1) Allegro
2) Larghetto
3) Allegro
Whenever I dream a blue dream
I barely sleep at night
I'm just waiting for the morning light
Whenever I dream a blue dream
I wake up in a haze
Trying to chase your memory away
“” Deep Blue Dream — Yola
It’s a great mistake to deny Mozart’s work its power because it is so beautiful . “” Edward Fitzgerald
it’s a thing we do in general—denying the power of beautiful things—and in the face of the wall of shit currently spread across our newsfeeds, a subtle reminder of power of beautiful things, in nature and in art, is particularly called for. i thought it’d be a fitting choice to wrap up Mozart in May—a series that i’ve been tending to this month, beginning with the Symphony N0. 39, then No.40, the Piano Concerto No.11—with one of the last of the composer’s works. it’s hard to believe that the closing Allegro is the work of a man in the last year of his life, there’s still so much in it that sings of summers to come, of open fields and there being enough time to memorize their slopes. the whole movement in seven words: was that life? well then, once more.
The finale, like that of several earlier concertos, has the swinging rhythm of a hunting song. Its main theme has a delightful, naive character - Mozart went on to use its tune as the basis for a spring song, ‘Komm, lieber Mai’ (‘Come, lovely May’), which is often sung by children’s choirs in German-speaking countries. “” Robert Philip on the third movement, The Classical Music Lover’s Companion.
it’s the second movement that shows his age. compared to the Larghetto of that much earlier Piano Concerto No.11 (written in 1783 which, measured by the metric of Mozart’s prolific output, is practically two decades before 1791), the Larghetto of the Piano Concerto No.27 communicates more wistfulness than grace. it moves with the cautious steps of a funeral procession—the pulsating accompaniment of the french horn and bassoon adding a dolorous blue tinge to the affair. the “choppiness” for which Beethoven critiqued Mozart’s piano music is no longer extant in this second movement; instead, it’s notes—as well as in the cadenza near the tail end of the closing Allegro—trickle across the instrument like beads of water down a plane of condensation.
According to Mozart’s own Thematic Catalogue, this final piano concerto was finished on 5 January 1791, though studies of his autograph score suggest that he drafted it in 1788, the same year as the ‘Coronation’ Concerto. Mozart certainly performed it himself in March 1791, and this was his last appearance at a public concert in Vienna. “” Robert Philip, The Classical Music Lover’s Companion.
this is the third year in a row that i’ve spent the month of May with the music of Mozart, though i still can’t quite articulate why i find the combination quite befitting. it’s been a difficult start to spring, a difficult month of May, and an unfortunate end to it. i started and maintain this journal as a collection of beautiful things that i come across in art and in life, so its especially difficult to come back here in a week where the ugliness that people are capable seems to be overwhelming fucking abundant. whatever defence of beauty one can wage during a week like this, must be in the company of the sheer and seemingly indefatigable stupidity that is being expressed with full force in our society. stupidity, because i’m tired of talking, thinking, about race—i live it every single day.
the remedy that i seek in this journal, especially in times of disunity such as this, is to be able to maintain the delicate and sometimes impossible balance between: throwing your voice into the current of incoherence, prejudice and projectiles of the most inconsiderate opinions borne either of blind allegiance to your group or fear of the other, while simultaneously maintaining a personal space that is arable to the growth of delicate, vast and brilliant things in life that are able to persist in the face of the treadmill of ugliness arriving daily at our doors.
(song of the week: ‘Deep Blue Dream’ — Yola)
pull back the curtains of a beautiful song by a beautiful black artist in the last decade and there’s a good chance you’ll find Dan Auerbach’s hands lurking behind the production scenes. he shares the song credits with Nashville’s Pat McLaughlin and Yolanda Quartey (Yola) from Bristol, England. ‘Deep Blue Dream’ is the 8th song from Yola’s 2019 album Walk Through Fire. her voice, goodness. if only this song was longer…at any rate it’s a great addition to the official Blue Riband Playlist:
Throwback to: Year 1, Week43 — Year 2, Week43
Click here for the full 2019/2020 roster of composers