Piano Concerto No. 16 in D Major

Of the six piano concertos Mozart composed during the remarkably prolific year of 1784, the third—No. 16 in D Major—is the only one in which trumpets and timpani are part of the orchestra, making it the grandest of this spectacular sequence of works. These military instruments give the opening “Allegro assai” a march-like air and an expectant quality that is enhanced by the orchestra’s rising crescendo that follows the martial opening gesture. The piano enters with its own take on the same gesture before weaving through the orchestral texture with flowing streams of filigree semiquavers. The military instruments fall silent in the central “Andante”, which offers a chastely melodic contrast to the brassy majesty of the opening movement. The finale is a rondo based upon a sweetly guileless returning tune heard initially in the flute and violins, the piano’s entry announced by the return of the trumpets and drums. Following an improvisatory piano cadenza at the movement’s climax, the rhythm falls into a cheeky jig-like tempo that jogs the concerto to its cheerful close.