Violin Concerto No. 1 in B‑Flat Major

Tales of the young Mozart’s astonishing skills at the keyboard or of his childhood compositions are usually cited as proof of the boy’s prodigious musical gifts. Yet one of the most remarkable stories from his early years concerns how, after being presented with a mini-sized violin and chided by his father for claiming that he could play it without a lesson, the six-year-old sensation proceeded to give a spotless performance of the second fiddle part in a string trio. A decade later he was appointed lead violinist of the Archbishop of Salzburg’s court orchestra, for which he composed most if not all of his five violin concertos and several other pieces with concerto-like movements for violin. The Violin Concerto No. 1, probably written in Salzburg in 1773 or 1775, may well have been first performed by Mozart himself. While the work calls for considerable virtuosity from the soloist, especially in its exuberant finale, it is distinguished overall by the richness of its themes and their development within the substantial framework of sonata form in each of its three movements.