14
7/23/2019 Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard Music http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improvised-embellishments-in-mozarts-keyboard-music 1/14 Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard Music Author(s): Robert D. Levin Source: Early Music, Vol. 20, No. 2, Performing Mozart's Music III (May, 1992), pp. 221-233 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3127879 Accessed: 25/07/2010 23:53 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=oup . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Early Music.

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Page 1: Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard Music

7/23/2019 Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard Music

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/improvised-embellishments-in-mozarts-keyboard-music 1/14

Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard MusicAuthor(s): Robert D. LevinSource: Early Music, Vol. 20, No. 2, Performing Mozart's Music III (May, 1992), pp. 221-233Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3127879

Accessed: 25/07/2010 23:53

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=oup.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of 

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Oxford University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Early Music.

Page 2: Improvised Embellishments in Mozart's Keyboard Music

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Robert D. Levin

Improvised

embellishments

n

M o z a r t s

k e y b o a r d

m u s i c

i

?

:

::• i~ii~i:i ,i:i~iiiii-i;

i~ii

i i•i5iiiiii

....

1

E.

Schutz,

Mozart

laying

or friends

n

Salzburg.

Water-

colour,

.178o

Salzburg,

MuseumCarolino

Augusteum)

The

advent

of

performances

on

historical nstruments

has

wrought

a

fundamental

change

in the

experience

of

listenersand

performers.

Assumptions

about

mattersof

tempo,

articulation,

character,

sonority,

texture

and

inflection have been

challengedby

the

growing

convic-

tion that

the

language

of

a

period

is

intimately

related o

its instruments of execution. It is remarkable hat the

public

has

accepted

his

transformation

f

a

span

of

rep-

ertory

that

has

already

reachedwell into the Romantic

era with far

greater

enthusiasm

than

traditionally

trained

musicians,

whose

early

2oth-century

aesthetic

bias seems to

be a

more

reactionary

element than the

attitude

of listeners.

Perhaps

his

gap

in

attitude

and

acceptance

s related

to the

disparity

between

the

rapid

strides we have wit-

nessed

in

the

mastery

of

historic instrumentsversusthe

slow

progress

n

reinstating

he

18th-century ractice

of

improvisation.

The fact is that all musicians

today,

regardless

of their

preference

of instrument

(historical

versus

'modern'-the

latterword

being

of course ten-

dentious),

are

products

of a

system

of

conservatory

training

that

stresses technical

security

over

imagina-

tion,

and absolute

respect

or

the

sanctity

of

the

printed

text

over

creativity.

The

decline

in

the

stringency

of

music

theory

requirements

n

schools

throughout

the

world has led to a situation n which

performers

master

the

syllabic

surface

of

the

works

they

play

without suf-

ficient

knowledge

of

the

language

hat

underpins

t. No

wonder, then,

that

it

is still

relatively

are

to

hear a

per-

formance

of Classical music

that

goes beyond

the

printed

page;

and when

it

does,

the embellishmentsand

cadenzas

presented

are

usually

the

product

of

careful

preparation

rather than risk-laden

spontaneity.

How

discouraging

t is that the lack of freedom

in

perform-

ances of art

music-practised

by

performers

with

years

of

training-results

in

far less communicative

power

thanjazzandpopularmusic,whoseequallydazzlingvir-

tuosi

are

often

unable

to read music but honour their

instincts and

always

use their

language

actively.

f

visits

to concerts often seem

indistinguishable

rom attend-

ance at

church,

t is becausewe have

prizedheritage

over

its content.

Mozart'smusic

possessed

none of this

patina

when it

was written.His

letters

reveala master

showman,

poised

to

delight,

astonish,

confound and move

his

audience.

Virtually very

istener

heard

he

typical

Mozart

work in

1780s

Vienna

for

the

first

time;

there was

none of

the

sense

of

the

classic

subsequently

ascribed

o his

music.

Norshould weforget hat Mozart's irtuosityas apianist

was

prized

above his

composing,

and

his

abilitiesas an

improviser

stood above both

of

these

in the

public's

esteem.

If

performers

have been slow

to realize

hat true

rhetorical

fluency

in Mozart's

language

cannot be

achievedwithout

mastering

ts

vocabulary

nd

syntax,

t

is

precisely

because our current

teaching-and

the

values

of

a music

industry

defined

by

competitions

and

EARLY MUSIC

MAY

1992

221

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recordings-stifle risk-taking

and

invention. Yetwe are

in a better

position

to

define

and

understandMozart's

language

than his

contemporaries,

hanks to the inter-

vening

changes

of

style

and the distance of

time. The

existence of cadenzas and embellishments

by

Mozart

himself,

and

of

contemporary

reatises

giving

exhaustive

prescriptions

or embellishmentsand

cadenzas,

give

us

all the informationrecessary o masterhis language.'

Nonetheless,

musicologists

continue to

debate the

appropriateness

of

introducing

embellishments-pre-

pared

or

improvised-into

modern

performances,

pointing

out

that

reviews

n

the Classical

period

often

decried

the ornamentation

wrought

by

individual

per-

formers.

Furthermore,

ome modern

scholars,

having

come of

age

with

performances

devoid

of

any

embel-

lishment,

display

a

musical taste uninfluenced

by

their

research. It should be obvious to historian and

per-

formeralike hat the

validity

of

a

practicedepends

upon

the

skill with which it

is

carried

out. Ornamentation s

most effectivewhen it

is

fully organic

to the

expressive

and dramaticcontent

of

the

work;

it

is

not an external

process

carried out

upon

a

piece.

A

performer

with a

thorough understanding

of harmonic

progression

and

voice-leadingpossesses

the

prerequisites

or

the assim-

ilation

of

Mozart's

personal

anguage.

This in

turn is the

precondition

for the

ability

to

improvise

idiomatic

embellishments.

The

more

aware

one

becomes

of

the

idiosyncrasies

of

each

composer,

the more vivid one's

characterizations

and embellishments become.

The

melodic elaborations avoured

by

Mozart n his

Salzburg

years

are not

always

employed

n the Vienna

works,

and

his

overall

practice

will

not

necessarily

work with

equal

success n compositionsby his contemporaries.ndeed,

certain ornaments are

peculiar

to

specific composers

and

help

define their

style.

Embellishment

s

fundamentally

tactile,

physical

act

that

cannot

be

mastered

by analysis only.

Like an

apprentice

jazz

musician,

the would-be

improviser

in

the Classical

tyle

must

develop superior

reflexesand an

appropriate

ocabulary

f melodic

patterns

drawn rom

the

models

he or she wishes to

emulate.

The

difference

between

a

performer

who

prepares

embellishments

or

cadenzas

and

one

who

improvises

hem is

analogous

o

the difference

between

the

beginning language

student

who can

only replicate

sentences taken from a

phrase

book,

and one who has

progressed

o the

point

at

which

it is

possible

to

leap

into

the

creativeworld

of

defining

thoughts

within the new

language.

Whether

mprovised

or

prepared

n

advance,

embel-

lishments added

by

the

performer

are

an

essential

ele-

FONDAZIONE

GIORGIO

CINI

Istituto

per

la

Musica

A_:

?

V?,i

1 -

1.0000

ANDREA

GABRIELI

[1533]-

1585

OPERA OMNIA

CRITICAL

EDITION

4

Volumes

of historical

and

critical

ntroduction

and

18 volumes

of

works

published

in vita

(1-10)

and

posthumous

works

(11-18)

POSTHUMOUS

WORKS

Volume

11

(1597)

Concerti

di

Andrea,

et

di Gio.

Gabrieli

..

libro

primo

et secondo

Venezia,

Angelo

Gardano

1587

Edited

by

David

Bryant

1st

Book

134665

2nd Book 134666

Already

published:

HYSTORICAL

AND

CRITICAL

NTRODUCTION

I.

The

"years

of

Gabrieli":biography

nd

chronology

(G.

Benzoni,

D.

Bryant,

M.

Morell) 134347)

WORKSPUBLISHED

IN VITA

w o

8

Lower

James

Street,

London

W1R

3PL

phone:

01 287

5060

R I C O ( R D I

Volume

9.

Psalmi

Davidici

(1583)

(tD.

Arnold,

D.

Bryant)

(134348)

222

EARLY

MUSIC MAY

1992

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Ex.i Rondo in A

minor,

K511;

ive variants of

principal

theme

(a)

Andante

P

p

_•*

_

_ _

_ _

_

crcre

scen-

do

p

crc

.

sc -d

(b)

cre - - scen - - do

p

-

-

.

...

-

-,

_,

•_--

..-_----_----,

cre

-

scen

-

do

f3

cr cree cendo p

(c)

creescendodof

r. r . r.

I

r. .

rc

ceeendo

p

.

EARLY MUSIC MAY

1992 223

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(d)

129

crescendo

tr

C

crescendo

f

(e)

151

C_

_D

C

crescendo,

p

_-'-

_

~ ~

n~i-~:

__:

-

_

1

---"--

'

-

--

"---

crescendo

,g

z r

i-

j K

ment

in Classical

music.

The amount

of ornamentation

required

from

the

performer

depends

upon

the ornate-

ness

of the

melody:

at

times

the amount

of elaboration

in

the

original

text

precludes

additional

ornamentation.

An

oft-neglected

element

of

idiomatic

improvisation

is

the

observance

of the

five-octave

range

of Mozart's

instrument.

Embellishments

and cadenzas

that

other-

wise cohere

to

Mozart's

language

yet

stray beyond

these

limits

will strike the

perceptive

listener as

faulty.

There are generic places where embellishment is most

likely

to be desirable.

The most salient

of

these

is the

return

of the

principal

theme

in

sonatas,

and

especially

rondos.

It

is instructive to

collate

Mozart's

written-out

decorations

of a

work such as the

Rondo

in

A

minor,

K511

(ex.i).

Such

decorations

provide

invaluable

examples

of

spontaneity

captured

on the

page.

It is

critical to

understand

the

relationship

between

Mozart's written-out

embellishments

and

the

publi-

cation

history

of

each

work.

The first editions

of

several

sonatas

published

during

Mozart's

lifetime contain elab-

orate embellishments

not found

in the

autograph.

An

oft-quoted

example

is

the slow

movement

to

the Sonata

in

F

major,

K332.3

These

embellishments,

which are

accepted by

scholars

as

authentic,

together

with

the

autograph

embellishments

in such works as

the

A minor

rondo

or the

F

major

rondo,

K494,

give

the cue to

Mozart's intentions in works that were not issued during

his lifetime.

The

re-emergence

of the

autograph

to the

Fantasy

and Sonata

in

C

minor,

K475/457,

sheds addi-

tional

light

upon

the

relationship

between

Mozart's

more

schematic

original

concept, reflecting

his own

abilities

to

improvise,

and

the written-out

elaborations

he

prepared

for his students

(in

this

case

Therese

von

Trattner,

the dedicatee

of the

sonata),

or for the

general

224

EARLY

MUSIC

MAY

1992

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Ex.2

Sonata n C

minor,

K457,

i,

bars

17-23;

hree versions of

autograph:

a)

first

version;

(b)

second

version;

(c)

third

version

(a)

Adagiogcresc,

f

jj•u

Kq- R

..II.IM

fQ

sotto

voce

p

cresc,

f

p

IL

;::

v

i

i

,i

V

"

I i i

I

dor

fP

cresc,

f p

(b)

A

Elm f-

I

f-?If

di

iv

• r--3 ---1 3

r-1

_

-

/.?

i"r

EARLY

MUSIC

MAY

1992

225

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(c)

pb

____

7

> j 7 _ _

..

1........

Scresc.

pp

cresc

f

....-

-

. .

_._.

._

public.

The

recurrences of the

principal

theme

of

the

slow

movement

to

K457 (ex.2a)

is

signified

in

the auto-

graph by

the direction 'Da

Capo

7

bars':

they

are not

written out.

An

extra

leaf

contains

diminutions for

each

return-unknown before

the

rediscovery

of

the auto-

graph (ex.2b).4

These

in

turn are

superseded by

a more

elaborate set

of

embellishments

on

a further

leaf,

labelled

'Variationen'

in

Maximilian

Stadler's

hand

(ex.2c).

It

is

the

latter versions that

appear

in

every

mod-

ern edition.

What insight these versions give into Mozart's crea-

tive

process

We witness not

merely

the narrative evo-

lution

of an

idea as

in

K494

and

K511,

but the

recastings

of

a

single

passage.

This

example

documents a notational

practice

of

great

consequence

to the

question

of orna-

mentation,

i.e. the common use

of

shorthand da

capo

signs

rather than renotations

of

the

principal

theme. The

modern

performer

is unaware

of

these,

seeing

only

the

literal

reprinting

of

the

theme with

its

attendant

mis-

leading implication

that the

composer

desired a

note-

for-note reiteration of the

opening

music.

Given the evidence

presented

above,

it

would seem

il-

logical

upon

stylistic

and

expressive

grounds

for

the

theme of the second movement to the Sonata

in B

flat,

K570,

to be

performed

six times

in

succession

(counting

the

prescribed

repeats)

in

a

single,

unadorned state.

Ex.3

presents sample

embellishments

for

each of

its

appearances.

The practice of embellishment at returns is docu-

mented

in

Mozart's

manuscripts

in other

interesting

ways,

some

of which

require particularly

creative

solutions:

1. In

several

of

the

piano

concertos,

the theme is

una-

dorned at

reprises

in

the solo

instrument,

but

deco-

rated

in

the orchestral ritornello that follows

(ex.4).

It is an

essential contradiction

of

the

relationship

226 EARLY MUSIC MAY

1992

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Ex.3

Sonata

in B

flat,

K570,

i;

sample

embellishmentsof the

principal

theme

(a

z:

tr

Adagio

2: tr

(b) 2

tr_

2

9

(in

L.H.)

(C)

28

n k

(d)

tr

44

tr

%;~c

CDf

(1: first time; 2: second time)

:::ii-::

P F R 7

VAV

J

C

N UP RT

established

1868

Clavichords- Spinets

Harpsichords

?

Fortepianos

D-8600

Bamberg,

Zeppelinstr.

3

West

Germany

Tel.

(0951)

31001

Fortepiano

after C. Graf

Vienna

1822

EARLY MUSIC MAY

1992 227

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Ex.4

Concerto

in D

minor,

K466,

i:

(a)

solo

version

of

theme;

(b)

elaboratedorchestral

version

(a)

131

(b)

139

13 9

-

•__,___•,__--

_

--::_•

____•

_••:

•_

_.._

ob.

__i...

p -

bna

F

(in

B

b)---

P

pf _

vl.

Pf

F~ll

f

via.

p.

V C ~

f

p

between solo

and

orchestra,

with its

underlying

assumptions

of invention and

virtuosity,

for the

soloist to present a less elaborate theme than that

played by

the

band.

In

cases such as the

above,

the

soloist must

play

something

as active

in

the

ante-

cedent as

will

be

heard

from

the

orchestra

in the

consequent.

A

literal

carry-over

is not

necessary,

but

certainly

possible.

2.

A

special problem

is

posed

by

movements

con-

taining

repeat

signs.

The

repeats

invite

embellish-

ment

of

both

main themes and

subsidiary

material.

At

times the

composer

may

embellish the return

section of a sonata, thereby creating a significant

contrast with the

first,

unadorned

treatment

of a

given

theme.

The

performer

taking

both

repeats

note for

note

in

such

a sonata movement runs the

risk of

turning

the

flexibility

of

the

composer's

invention into

a

rigid stylistic

exercise:

first

the audi-

ence

hears a

simple

version of a tune

twice;

then a

highly

elaborated one which

is

also

repeated.

The

228 EARLY

MUSIC MAY

1992

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Ex.5

Sonata

for

piano,

four

hands,

in

F,

K497,

i;

decorations o

principal

heme in

Levin's

and

Bilson's

performance:

a)

expo-

sition;

(b)

repeat

of

exposition;

(c)

recapitulation;

d)

repeat

of

recapitulation

(a)

Andante

(b)

5

etc.

(as

above)

(c)

64

-

9_7

7,-..

.

...7:

P

33

(b)

(C)

I

1

I

I

I

-I

(d)

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Ex.6

Concerto in

C,

K503,

i,

bars

57-64,

with

sample

embellishment

elaborated

version

57

tr

___

_

_

.

pf.

~~~

-__

_(+hns)

vl.

via.-

-

..

.

.

.

.

mfp

mfp

vc.

_

_

b.

ifp

lmfp

61

__

__[y

_

_

f

f----f-

_

:

_~_

_.......

(+

wind)

_

__

_ _

_

_ __

- -

-------

1

mfp

mfp

f

mfp

Mfpf

illusion

of

spontaneity

created

by

the

written-out

embellishment will

be

crushed

the

second

time

around

by

the

player's

ack

of

imagination.5

t

is

incumbent

upon

the

performer

to

create

inter-

mediate

(or

at

least

different)

states

of

decoration

o

that an

organic

development

of

the

initial

idea

occurs

each

time

it is

heard.

Ex.5

hows

a

solution

for

the second movement of Mozart'sSonatain F for

piano,

four

hands,

K497,

as

carried

out in

a

record-

ing

made

by

the

author

with

Malcolm

Bilson.

While

successive

embellishments

of an

idea

need

not

become

ever

more

intricate,

Mozart's

written

ornamentation n

the

recapitulation

s

so

consum-

mate

that it

seemed

prudent

to

invent

a

less

fancy

reading

or

the

first

time

the

return

s

heard,

saving

Mozart's

ersion

for

the

repeat.

This

strategy

of

pro-

gressive

melodic

elaboration

s

typical,

butnot

abso-

lutely

necessary;

ather,

the

ornaments

chosen

for

each recurrence

of

the

theme

should

provide

a

dis-

tinctive

flavour

that balances

the structural

ymm-

etry

with

an ever fresh,

unpredictable

nflection.

Apart

romprincipal

hemes,

certain

generic

passages

invite

filling

out:

1.

Whenever

melodic

and

rhythmic

activity

suddenly

slacken

without

obvious

dramatic

or

expressive

motivation.

Two

such

cases

are:

a. sequences

n slow movements

(see

ex.6);

b.

passageswhose

topand

bottom

notes

are

delin-

eated

without

the

necessary

connective

arpeg-

gios

required o

give

them

their ntended

shape.

230

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Ex.7

Concerto

in C

minor,

K491,

i,

bars

257-64,

with

filled-in

passagework

257

pf.

(Pf.

i

_ ••1-

_h-

... .

-

-

___

.

_-

vl.

261

-

-

____

-

.

--.-cresc.

elaborated version

_ Ey

# t- ~ z m

- __

-

-

-

- ------------

or

c r e s c

cresc.

f

cresc.

f

W

f

F

EARLY

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MAY

1992

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Ex.8

Concerto in B

flat,

K595,

i,

bars

49-58,

with

sample

embellishment

pf.

P

Solo

vl.

0

Solo

p

Solo

vla.---_

Solo

db.

1.1_.

._M-

-

-

elaborated

version

.--_

_

__

7.. 7

%-

-

-.

-&

yi

54

,

.--..,._

_

_ _

,hi_

_ _

-

a_

.

_

_

54

iO

f Ac

These

occur

in

the

piano

concertos

in E

flat

major,

K482;

in B flat

major,

K595;

and

especially

in

C

minor,

K491.

They

are

particularly

noticeable

because the

orchestra's

hythmic

activity

suddenly

eclipses

that of the soloist

(see ex.7).6

2.

The

'piano

recitatives'

n

the

slow

movements

of

Mozart's oncertos, nwhich amelody n thepiano's

right

hand,

punctuated

by

rests,

s

accompanied

by

repeated

chords in

the

strings.

Such

passages

are

found

in

the

concertos n

D

major,

K451;

n D

minor,

K466;

n

C

major,

K467;

n C

minor,

K491;

n

D

major

('Coronation'),

K537;

nd

in B

flat

major,

K595.

As is

generally

known,

Mozart

commented on the

bare-

ness of the

passage

rom

K451

n

a

letter to his father

dated

9

June

1784.

His sister

Nannerl had found

'something

missing'

in this

passage,

and

Mozart

confirmed

his

in the

letter,

promising

o

'supply

he

deficiency

as soon as

possible

and

send it with

the

cadenzas'.

Every

modern

edition

prints

the

more

elaborateversion from the St Peter

parts

in

Salz-

burg-presumed to be Mozart'srevision-above

the starker

original

version,

showing

the relation-

ship

between

what

was

notated and what was

expected.

It is

to

be

hoped

that creative

performers

will

be

inspired

by

this

illustrationto find similar

embellishments

or

the

'something missing'

in

the

other concertos cited.

Heretofore,

such

embellish-

ments have been

lamentably

rare,

and limited to

232

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1992

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Ex.9

Trio in B

flat,

K498,

i,

bars

38-41

38

3

3

Ex.lo

"

"I"I

#

?

?

Ti-

relatively

areful

decoration.An

alternative

or

part

of the recitative rom K595s

given

in ex.8.

3.

Isolated

spots

where a

note value

could

be

orna-

mented

by

a

grace

note,

trill,

or

turn

(ex.9).

I

have

chosen not to

treat

the

construction

and rhet-

oric of

cadenzas

here,

as

I

have

done this

elsewhere.7

Nonetheless,

t is

worth

observing

hat

there

are certain

harmonic

formulas that

appear

regularly

n

the

piano

concerto

cadenzas,

for

example

that

shown in

ex.lo.

A

related

formula used in

lead-ins

(the

shorter

cadenzas

that

precede

the

principal

heme,

especially

n

rondos),

is

given

in

ex.ii. The

ability

o

improvise

upon

such for-

mulas,using

the

thematic

materialof

the

respective

on-

certo,

is of

great importance

to

successful

cadenza

improvisation.

Ex.11

SwI

-

••"

g

P

K-

T

I

l

8

..

[

i

.-.

'•

•[

I I

How

restrictive

are

the

criteria

expounded

above?

n

my experience,

not

at all.

Not that

improvised

cadenzas

in styles other than Mozart'shave not been created

before-especially

in

the

late

19th

and

early

20th

cen-

turies;

but

let us

return or a

moment to

ex.i.

We see

five

different

versions of a

single

idea,

and

no

doubt

Mozart

could have

written

another

ten if

his

formal

require-

ments

had

mandated

t.

More to

the

point,

the

embel-

lishments I

have

encountered in

the

work of

such

informed

colleagues

as

Malcolm

Bilson

have

always

been

enlightening

o me

because,

while

thoroughly

diomatic

to Mozart's

anguage,

they

are differentfrom the ones

that

form

my

personal

vocabulary.

Mozart's

oeuvre

s

so

immense

There

is so much to be

inspired

and

influ-

enced

by,

thata

performer

displaying nsight

and

stylis-

tic awareness

can

develop

an

individual

vernacular

of

ornamentation

that will

be as distinctive

as her or

his

performing

style.

RobertLevin

is a

leading

performer

n both

period

and

modern

pianos

whose

performances

nclude

innovatory

improvised

adenzas

nd

fantasias

on Mozartean

hemes.

He is also a pioneeringscholarwhose completionsof

Mozart

ragments

havebeen

widely erformed:

he latest

s

a new version

of

the

Requiem

premi&red

n

Stuttgart

n

August

1991.

'For discussion

of these sources

see R. D.

Levin,

'Instrumental

Ornamentation,

Improvisation

and

Cadenzas',

Performance

ractice,

ed.

H.

Mayer

Brownand S. Sadie

(London,

1989),

pp.267-91.

2Only

one

keyboard

work,

the Sonata

in D

major

for two

pianos,

K448/375a,

ontains

a note outside this limit:

f"#

(in

the first

piano

part),

and we know

from a letter

that

Josepha

von

Auernhammer

played

hat

part,

so she

must have

possessed

a

fortepiano

hat

extended

up

to

g"'".

3The

wo versionsarenot

reproduced

here,

as

they

arefound in

vir-

tually

every

modern edition:

cf. also the

article cited in

n..

4Bars

0ff. in

ex.2bare

similar o bars

41ff.

of

the

thirdversionof

the

autograph.

However,

bars

41ff.

n the second

version are

different.

'The

unpopularity

of

second

repeats

n

sonata

movementsis

per-

haps

not

entirely

unrelated

o

performers'

nxiety

about this

challenge

to the

imagination.

6For

extended discussionof

such

passages,

ee

the

essay

referred

o

in

n.i.

7See

n.1

and

Levin, 'Improvisation

and

Embellishment

in

the

Mozart Piano

Concertos'

Musical

Newsletter,

v/2 (Spring

1975),

pp.3-14.

EARLY

MUSIC MAY

1992

233