The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven by Charles Rosen

Author:Charles Rosen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Music, General
ISBN: 9780571228126
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Published: 1971-01-01T16:00:00+00:00

striking. The C major Concerto makes no such pretense, although its main theme is similar to the opening of the Jupiter. This concerto is Mozart's first true essay in orchestral grandeur. Before this, the symphonies, even the Linz, K. 425, had striven more for brilliance than for majesty: with the rhythmic structure of the classical style it was a more easily attainable goal. It is the tranquil breadth of K. 467 that leads to the achievements of the Prague and the Jupiter. More than in any other previous work is Mozart's ability to work with large masses—to think in blocks and areas of sound—so in evidence.

The opening tutti masses the winds as a group against the strings with no solo wind effects except briefly at measure 28. The rhythmic breadth is particularly remarkable: while the excitement of K. 466 brought in a large number of short phrases in the opening ritornello, and several dramatic pauses, the beginning of K. 467 is continuous and massive, the tonic key laid out as a wide and firm base. The phrases are all a regular four measures in length (with one overlapping at measure 12) and, towards the end of the tutti, broader five-measure phrases (at measures 48, 60, and 64—the latter overlapping to preserve a four-measure rhythm and acting in the end like a ritenuto that holds back the final beat). Only just before the entrance of the soloist, as a preparation, does the rhythm become fragmented.

The piano part is particularly rich and inventive in new kinds of keyboard figuration, sometimes of a remarkable density. Most striking in this movement, too, is the long-range feeling for tonal areas and their stability. The modulation to the dominant is heavily reinforced by quickly turning to the dominant minor,1 which I quote because of its extraordinary repercussions later in the piece:

1A dominant minor at this point of the exposition is both disruptive and stabilizing: it stabilizes the dominant major, and in so doing increases the tension with the tonic.

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