Mozart Piano Concertos etc. Volume 11

This eleventh volume adds the three juvenile concertos which Mozart composed in 1771 - 72, all re-writes of keyboard sonatas by J.C. Bach.

Bach had been something of a mentor to Mozart whilst he was living in London (1764 - 65) and these concertos not only draw on Bach's thematic material, but are very much in the gallant style of which Bach was a leading proponent.

Converting the sonatas into concertos presented Mozart with numerous challenges, as both forms were subject to relatively strict conventions that were markedly different. Mozart overcame these challenges with great imagination and lightness of touch.

The Overture to Mitridate, re di Ponto was composed for the Duke of Lombardy in 1770 when Mozart was fourteen, a year before the concertos.The opera was a great hit, and consequently Mozart was commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa to write a serenata for the wedding of her son Archduke Ferdinand. Ascanio in Alba was the result.

Mozart started the comedy Lo sposo deluso in 1785, but only composed five numbers, including the Overture heard here. The five pieces written for Thamos, König in Ägypten represent the only set of incidental music that Mozart composed for the theatre.