| Mozart Piano Concerto 17, Dezsö Ránki, Piano - mvt 2, part 2 Dezsö Ránki (Steinway piano w/o lid) English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Tate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto In G Major, K.453 No.17 [32.12 total time] second movement, part two of two part one of the second movement is here: www.youtube.com Recorded at the Imperial Palace of Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria, 15 November 1990 Elizabeth Schwarm Glesner writes: According to the date that the composer himself noted on the score, the Seventeenth Piano Concerto was completed April 12, 1784, the last of four concerti that he had written in a two month period. Mozart typically produced several piano concerti at the end of each winter. In 1785, he would write two such works in February and March, in 1786, two more. At first glance, the timing of such productivity might seem to be due to a burst of spring fever. However, the actual explanation has less to do with weather than with religion. These numerous concerti were all written during or just before Lent, the six weeks of reflection that precede Easter each year. In Vienna, at the time a very Catholic city, the dramatic theatres usually closed during Lent, depriving the Viennese of a favored source of entertainment. Lacking competition from theatres, concert attendance soared, and musicians capitalized on the demand by presenting even more concerts. Mozart's own letters, as well as contemporary accounts, attest that during Lent he frequently gave three ... |