Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 in E♭ major, K. 271, known as the Jeunehomme or Jenamy concerto was written in Salzburg in 1777 when the composer was 21 years old.
| Piano Concerto No. 9 | |
|---|---|
| Jeunehomme or Jenamy | |
| by W. A. Mozart | |
 Mozart in 1777, the year of the composition, painted in Bologna by an unknown artist | |
| Key | E-flat major |
| Catalogue | K. 271 |
| Genre | Concerto |
| Style | Classical period |
| Composed | 1777 |
| Movements | Three (Allegro, Andantino, Rondo, Presto) |
| Scoring |
|
Composition
editMozart completed the concerto in January 1777, nine months after his Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major and with few significant compositions in the intervening period.[1] He composed the work for Victoire Jenamy, the daughter of Jean-Georges Noverre and a proficient pianist.[2] Mozart performed the concerto at a private concert on 4 October 1777. Jenamy may have premiered the work earlier.[3]
Structure
editThe work is scored for solo piano, 2 oboes, 2 horns (in E♭), and strings.
It consists of three movements:
I. Allegro
editUnusually for the time, the first movement opens with interventions by the soloist, anticipating Beethoven's Fourth and Fifth Concertos. As Cuthbert Girdlestone (1964) notes,[4] its departures from convention do not end with this early solo entrance but continue in the style of dialogue between piano and orchestra in the rest of the movement.
Mozart wrote two cadenzas for this and the subsequent movement.[5]
II. Andantino
editThe second movement is written in the relative minor key. In only five of Mozart's piano concertos is the second movement in a minor key (K. 41, K. 271, K. 456, K. 482, and K. 488. K. 41 is an arrangement).
III. Rondo (Presto)
editThe third movement, which opens with the solo piano, is in a rondo form on a large scale. It is interrupted by a slow minuet section in the subdominant key of A♭ major (a procedure Mozart would repeat with his 22nd concerto, 1785, also in the key of E♭ major). The work ends in the original tempo.
Reception
editThe work is highly regarded by critics. Charles Rosen has called it "perhaps the first unequivocal masterpiece [of the] classical style."[6] Alfred Brendel has called it "one of the greatest wonders of the world".[7] Alfred Einstein dubbed it "Mozart's Eroica".[8] Cuthbert Girdlestone was not quite as effusive in his praise, however, noting that the slow movement, while a great leap forward for Mozart, was still somewhat limited and the work as a whole was not equal to the piano concertos from the composer's peak in Vienna from 1784 to 1787, nor equal to his best compositions overall.[9] More recently, the Mozart scholar Simon P Keefe has summed up the concerto as "characterized by a conciseness of thematic development, a depth of expression (in the Andantino in particular) and a level of exuberant virtuosity (especially in the finale) that surpasses anything witnessed in his preceding piano concertos."[10]
Name
editThe work has long been known as the Jeunehomme Concerto. Théodore de Wyzéwa and Georges de Saint-Foix claimed that Mozart wrote the piece for an unnamed French pianist 'Jeunehomme' (French for "young man") visiting Salzburg.[11] However, Michael Lorenz demonstrated in 2004 that the dedicatee was actually Victoire Jenamy (1749–1812), a daughter of Jean-Georges Noverre, a dancer who was one of Mozart's friends.[12] Mozart had met Jenamy during his stay in Vienna in 1773.[citation needed]
Notes
edit- ^ Girdlestone 1948, p. 94.
- ^ Hewitt, Angela. "Piano Concerto No 9 in E flat major 'Jeunehomme', K271". Hyperion Records. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ Steinberg 1998, p. 281.
- ^ Girdlestone, Cuthbert Morton; Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus; Girdlestone, Cuthbert Morton (1964). Mozart and his piano concertos. Dover books on music (Unabridged and corr. republ. of the 2. (1958) ed., first publ. in 1948 ... under the title Mozart's piano concertos ed.). New York: Dover Publ. pp. 94–5. ISBN 978-0-486-21271-5.
- ^ Mozart, W. A. (1963). Landowska, Wanda (ed.). Cadenzas for Mozart Piano Concerto no. 9 in E flat Major K. 271. Broude Brothers. ASIN B01MY4CHMV.
- ^ Rosen 1976, p. 59.
- ^ "A Break From Romanticism With Some Mozart" by Vivien Schweitzer, The New York Times, 20 April 2012
- ^ "Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat major, K. 271" by Ethan Allred, Chamber Music Northwest
- ^ Girdlestone, Cuthbert (1964). Mozart and his piano concertos. New York: Dover Publications. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-486-21271-5.
- ^ Eisen, Cliff; Keefe, Simon P., eds. (2006). The Cambridge Mozart encyclopedia. Cambridge, [England]: Cambridge University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-521-85659-1.
- ^ Steyaert, Kris (2016). "Mozart with a French twist: 'Mademoiselle Jeunehomme' revisited". The Musical Times. 157 (1937): 6–12. ISSN 0027-4666.
- ^ Michael Lorenz, "»Mademoiselle Jeunehomme« Zur Lösung eines Mozart-Rätsels", Mozart Experiment Aufklärung, (Essays for the Mozart Exhibition 2006) Da Ponte Institut, Vienna 2006, pp. 423–429.
Sources
edit- Girdlestone, Cuthbert (1948). Mozart's Piano Concertos. London: Cassell. OCLC 247427085.
- Rosen, Charles (1976). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (revised ed.). London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0571049052.
- Steinberg, Michael (1998). The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019802634X.
External links
edit- Konzert in Es ("Jeunehomme-Konzert") KV 271: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
- Piano Concerto No. 9: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Animated score on YouTube, Murray Perahia (piano, conductor), English Chamber Orchestra (1976)
- "Alfred Brendel's Final Program Note" by Michael Lorenz
- "The Continuing 'Jeunehomme' Nonsense" by Michael Lorenz
- Collection of material on the Jenamy Concerto, michaelorenz.at
