Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491
February 1, 2024
Bienen pianist Chelsea Wang, winner of the school’s Concerto Competition, is featured in this performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491. Donald Schleicher conducts the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra.
(00:16) Allegro
(13:53) Larghetto
(21:34) Allegretto
About this Work
Among the 27 piano concertos Mozart composed, only two are set in a minor key: Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466 in D minor and Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491 in C minor. The C minor concerto was written during a period of peak creativity, as he was working on another infamous piece: Le nozze di Figaro (“The Marriage of Figaro”), and stands apart from his other piano concertos for its “brooding darkness.” While Mozart is typically known for his positive, shining Classical form, his intimate, reflective setting is a stark departure, aided by his expansion of the orchestra and early-romantic treatment of the woodwinds. Not only was this concerto written for the largest orchestra of any of his other concertos, but he treats the woodwinds as soloists, helping to establish the orchestra as a “co-protagonist” within the concerto’s drama.