Summary

This guide to Mozart's two most popular piano concertos--the D minor, K. 466, and the C major, K. 467 (the so-called "Elvira Madigan")--presents the historical background of the works, placing them within the context of Mozart's compositional and performance activities at a time when his reputation as both composer and pianist was at its peak. The special nature of the concerto, as both a form and genre, is explored through a selective survey of some of the approaches that various critics have taken in discussing Mozart's concertos. The concluding chapter discusses a wide range of issues of interest to modern performers.

Choice Review

Mozart's piano concertos K. 466 and K. 467 are frequently paired in thought and in practice, not only because of their consecutive Kochel numbers but also because they seem complementary in many respects. After an introductory chapter, Grayson considers some of the most notable concerto models of the 20th century--those of D.F. Tovey (Essays in Musical Analysis, 1935-39) and Charles Rosen (The Classical Style, CH, May'73 and CH, Jul'97, and Sonata Forms, CH, Dec'80), and one the author calls "Leeson-Levin"--and finds useful things in each. In the next three chapters he discusses the concertos in light of these models. The analysis is straightforward enough to be parsed by persons without a reading knowledge of music; fewer than a dozen musical examples appear in the book. In the final chapter, Grayson provides useful, sensible discussions of several matters pertaining to performance practice. Although dedicated to just two of Mozart's dozens of concertos, this title serves as a fine introduction to the formal aspects of the classical concerto and the various theories concerning this most subtle of forms. Recommended to libraries with holdings devoted to music history and analysis at the upper-division undergraduate level and above. B. J. Murray University of Alabama