Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 20 in D minor, K. 466

“This is the land of the piano, for sure!”, wrote Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his anxious father in early June 1781 from Vienna: “My craft is so popular here that it would be impossible for me not to be able to make a good living.” Just days later, the 25-year-old resigned from his hated position in the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg, turned his back on his hometown, and began to establish himself as an independent musician in Vienna. Indeed, the “land of the piano” initially seemed to welcome the young artist with open arms. In a remarkably short time, Mozart rose to prominence in the imperial capital as a celebrated pianist, esteemed composer, and sought-after piano teacher. Central to his success were the numerous piano concertos he composed between 1782 and 1786. Frequently premiered at his own academies or subscription concerts, these works allowed Mozart to showcase both his compositional mastery and his pianistic brilliance.

Leopold Mozart, who had advised his son against the precarious life of a freelance artist, observed these developments with scepticism from Salzburg, 300 kilometres away. But when he visited Vienna for the first time in February 1785, his doubts turned to enthusiasm. Alongside Joseph Haydn, he attended a subscription concert at the Casino Zur Mehlgrube. The day after the concert, Haydn assured him that his son was “the greatest composer” he “knew in person or by name.” “The concert was incomparable, the orchestra excellent,” Leopold proudly reported to his daughter. The programme included symphonies, two arias, and “a new, outstanding piano concerto by Wolfgang, which the copyist was still transcribing when we arrived; your brother didn’t even have time to play through the Rondeau before the concert”.

The “outstanding” work, completed at the last minute, was the Piano Concerto in D Minor, now listed as No. 20. Symphonic in its scope, dramatic in its conception, and extraordinarily expressive, it marked a new direction for the genre. The piece captivated generations of composers, from Beethoven to Busoni, and its “romantic” qualities shaped 19th-century perceptions of Mozart. That Mozart’s first piano concerto in a minor key was also a highly experimental work, challenging the listening habits of its Viennese premiere audience, is evident from the opening bars, which plunge us into an intense realm of sound and emotion. Instead of a well-defined, memorable theme, we hear a restless texture of syncopations and driving bass figures, from which a thematic shape only gradually emerges in the first violins.

The surprises continue throughout the piece. When the soloist enters for the first time, he does not pick up on the dramatic symphonic introduction, but instead presents a theme of his own. This theme, though equally expressive, offers a contrasting facet of the D Minor world, one that complements the work’s improvisatory, exploratory opening with new dimensions of character and depth.