Friday Musical Interlude–Mozart at the Piano

Aug 03, 2012 at 11:11 am

OTE’ers help me!  I can’t stop playing this piece: the last movement of Mozart’s piano concerto #9, KV 271.  I should be listening to NPR on the way to and from work, but instead I just keep hitting repeat on the CD player.

On second thought, don’t help me…join me!

The piece is just rampant with images.  I hear a horse galloping at a great clip in the opening theme, with the orchestra providing the wind swishing by.  

Then there’s that unusual slow section starting at around minute 4…and remember, this is the third movement, meaning it’s already coming after a slow movement.  And as I’m listening to this beautiful slow part unfold, I know that the horse is just resting, perhaps drinking from a cool stream, ready to take off again…and then, at 7:06…she does!

How freakin’ exciting is that!?

And this iron-chops pianist totally gets it.  She’s obviously got amazing technique, but she’s definitely channeling Mozart here.  There’s only one person I could imagine playing this as well as she does and that would be me if I could only play the damn piano.

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2012 at 11:11 am and is filed under Musical Interlude, New Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

5 Responses to “Friday Musical Interlude–Mozart at the Piano”

1. Frank de Libero says:

   August 3, 2012 at 4:14 pm

   Thanks for sharing! Awesome.

   Reply
2. Alex Ajeto says:

   August 3, 2012 at 10:21 pm

   I know you are a proponent of the funk JB so might I suggest a little Kool & The Gang – Summer Madness. It’s a clear and beautiful 80-degree Summer day here in Seattle and this feels fitting. Just lay back and forget about all our budget and policy woes for a bit…

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SFt7JHwJeg

   Reply
   • Jared Bernstein says:

     August 3, 2012 at 10:34 pm

     Excellent advice!

     Reply
3. cm says:

   August 15, 2012 at 5:27 pm

   Oh, do I love this movement (and Mitsuko Uchida’s playing).

   It’s … it’s … it’s like a concerto within a concerto!

   If you can read music, it’s well worth grabbing a score and following along. What’s always surprised me is how something so simple on the page is so dense and complex to the ear: Mozart’s genius, in full flow when he was all of 21. *sigh*

   http://imslp.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No.9_in_E-flat_major,_K.271_%28Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus%29

   Reply
   • Jared Bernstein says:

     August 15, 2012 at 6:28 pm

     Thanks for that link–I’ll follow along!

     Reply