I. Allegro moderato II. Adagio III. Presto

It is an interesting and curious fact that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) – whose father Leopold was one of the most respected violin teachers of his day and who published his “school of violin playing” in the year of Mozart's birth – only composed a handful of violin concertos. While it is true that Mozart's “own” instrument was the piano, which explains the incomparably greater importance of his many piano concertos within his oeuvre, we should not forget Mozart was also a more than competent violinist, and he would have had no shortage of opportunities he wanted to write more concertos in this genre.

In total, Mozart composed five complete violin concertos, which were all written  at the age of 19 in Salzburg in 1775, shortly after his return from Munich. We do not know what inspired Mozart to pen them, but it seems likely they were commissioned, perhaps by his friend, the Salzburg violinist Kolb. We can be sure that Mozart didn't give up writing violin concertos because he put aside the violin: he continued to write a great many sonatas for piano and violin and was even known locally as a violinist since he was the concert master of the Salzburg royal orchestra.

The B flat major concerto K. 207 is the first of the five and dated April 14th 1775, while the A major concerto K. 219, the last of the five, is dated December 20th. In only a few months, we can witness an immense development in style and technique. In the first two, we don't find quite the same balance between the virtuosic use of the violin and the enunciation of themes. Sometimes the violin finds itself slightly isolated and the orchestra frequently plays independent material. The next three concertos though are true masterpieces. In looking for precedents, we can certainly detect the influences Mozart encountered in his journeys to Italy, Germany and France. But Mozart was a musical magpie, one able to adapt everything he found into his musical style, so this observation is equally applicable to anything Mozart wrote.

The B flat major violin concerto follows traditions by adopting a three movement design. Mozart studied the formal elements of the Vivaldi style Italian concerto style, and the use of sonata form is so completely integrated into his works that he wrote all three movements in a clear sonata form. The orchestral introduction was also placed strictly under the thumb of sonata form, and does not allow itself to be influenced by the solo instrument, because by the time the violin is allowed to enter, it has already introduced all the important material. Despite this, there is no absence of naturalness or spontaneity, and we can observe the inventive alternation of figurative, ornamental passages with those constructed from themes. Mozart's melodic gift is well suited to this duality and the demands of sonata form, and luckily for us, it was a talent he was unable to repress. We also notice how Mozart's handling of the orchestra develops and matures: in the slow movement, he exploits the unique atmospheric sonorities of the horns and oboes. The final movement makes for a sharp contrast with the restrained melodic inventiveness of the middle movement. This is no less inventive, and presents a succession of joyous triumphant themes. Mozart subsequently gave this concerto a new finale, a rondo, which now features in the Köchel catalogue as K. 261.