Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor

Completed early in 1786 and first performed that April at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 has often been thought his greatest such work. The scoring (for flute, timpani and strings, plus pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets) is the largest in any of his concertos and affords its orchestral writing new richness and flexibility. This is evident from the opening “Allegro”, the rhythmic starkness of whose main theme is emphasised by its sonority, and its emotional intensity pervasive even during the more lyrical secondary idea. Since Mozart supplied no cadenzas for this or the finale, later composers and pianists have had to supply their own before a coda that subsides into fatalistic calm. Centred on a melody of affecting poise, the “Larghetto” is notable for the degree to which wind instruments meld with the soloist in a striking instance of orchestral colouring, besides taking on a serenade-like role in alternate episodes. Underlying tension resumes in the final “Allegretto”, its sardonic theme forming the basis of eight variations that tease out its expressive potential prior to a coda where, unlike that of the Piano Concerto No. 20, the minor key retains its hold until the very last.