Mozart - Rondo in A minor, K. 511

Listeners and critics will often note, sometimes in surprise, that the overwhelming characteristic of Mozart's (1756-1791) Rondo in A Minor K. 511 is melancholy. While we can't know what mood the composer intended to convey in writing this piece, Mozart's reputation as subtle, logical, lighthearted, and generally pleasing can make us perk up at any perceived strong emotion bleeding through the surface of his music. Written in 1787 just before the composition of Don Giovanni, though, the context of the Rondo in Mozart's late career makes its intensity more understandable, and the reality is that, for Mozart, passion was often the intended object of his music making throughout his career (see his Fantasia in D Minor, K.397 for another example in his keyboard works). It is one of the characteristics that made him such an attractive source for later generations of composers in the Romantic Era. Indeed, critics sometimes note the Rondo's forward-looking Chopin-esque content. Mozart, however, was not a fortune teller and could only look around for inspiration. In this case, two members of the Bach family stand out: JS Bach, whose intricate music filled with layered melodies Mozart became increasingly familiar with in the 1780s; and CPE Bach, whose passionate, often purposefully chaotic music was emblematic of the pre-Romantic Sturm und Drang movement, and who was a constant inspiration to Mozart. This piece is a skillful mix of both aesthetics, equal parts elaborate and intense, and a rewarding, surprising listen from start to finish.

copyright Connor Buckley