Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 8 | Richard Goode (piano)

Questions surround Mozart’s “tragic piano sonata.” Was the death of the composer’s mother the reason for the somber mood of the piece? Or was it something else? Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor, K. 310 is played here by Richard Goode at a piano recital during the 2017 Verbier Festival.

(00:00) Coming on stage
(00:19) I. Allegro maestoso
(06:10) II. Andante cantabile con espressione
(12:31) III. Presto

Considered a stylistic revolution in Mozart’s (1756 — 1791) oeuvre, the Piano Sonata No. 8 (K. 310) was his first in a minor key, which led to its being called the “tragic sonata.” Indeed, the 8th Piano Sonata (under alternate numbering known as Piano Sonata No. 9 in A minor, 300d) is the “darkest” of Mozart’s piano sonatas in terms of mood and is one of only two written in a minor key. In fact, the most famous Austrian composer wrote only a few works in a minor key, and there has always been much speculation about the reason for that choice.

Mozart composed the Piano Sonata in A minor during a concert tour to Paris in 1778. He had been to the French metropolis in the past, celebrated as a child prodigy, but this time, everything was different. Now 22 years old, Mozart was looking for a lucrative position. For the first time, the star pianist was not traveling under the care of his father but was accompanied by his mother, Anna Maria Mozart. Stops on his job-application tour included Munich, Augsburg, Mannheim and finally Paris — but nowhere was Mozart successful with his request. And at the beginning of July, his mother died unexpectedly in Paris after a short illness.

So, it was only natural for it to be repeatedly assumed that Mozart had composed the somber Piano Sonata in A minor as a reaction to the death of his mother; as a musical expression of his grief, so to speak. But this is not true, as musicologists have been able to prove that the brilliant classical composer had already been working on the Piano Sonata in A minor during his stay in Mannheim, before his mother fell ill and died.

Nevertheless, the Piano Sonata K. 310 expresses some kind of pain. The first movement is dominated by a plaintive melody accompanied by a hammering rhythm. The second movement, an Andante cantabile con espressione, seems to offer consolation, but it also has a melancholy undertone. Finally, any glimmers of hope are overtaken by the oppressive atmosphere of the final movement. What prompted Mozart to write this sad piano sonata will perhaps always remain a mystery.

© 2017 Idéale Audience

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