| Mozart wrote cadenzas for all but six of his piano concertos. It is difficult task to find appropriate and satisfying cadenzas for the remaining six concertos, a task which raises important questions of style and form. Those who attempt to compose or improvise cadenzas for Mozart's piano concertos will no doubt meet praise or criticism depending on whether the listener upholds conservative, liberal, or innovative views on cadenza-writing. The Badura-Skoda/Frederick Neumann camp is dedicated to composing cadenzas strictly following Mozart's models in form, length, harmonic and rhythmic structure, and dramatic content. Robert Levin's approach points to the other extreme: "For the cadenza to be entirely predictable in all of its detail contradicts its very musical justification." For this reason, Levin improvises cadenzas when performing Mozart concertos. There also exists a middle ground, on which artists of today and the past have played cadenzas that may or may not follow Mozart's procedures. Although their cadenzas were not necessarily "Mozartean," one is struck by the wealth of ideas that reveal the creative process and distinct personality of the composers.;The existing cadenzas for the first movement of K. 453 have been composed by Pierre Baillot, Edwin Fischer, Ferruccio Busoni, Ernst von Dohnanyi, Johannes Brahms, and Robert Levin, as well as two by Mozart, one of which is of dubious authenticity. Each cadenza demonstrates the mark of its composer and to what degree the composer applied Mozart's format.;In this thesis, the Classical cadenza is defined as handled by Mozart in both his piano concertos and his solo works. Mozart's cadenzas are compared to those of his contemporaries Georg Abbe Vogler (1749-1814), two anonymous composers who wrote cadenzas for Joseph Haydn's D Major Piano Concerto, and Leopold Kozeluch (1747-1818). Mozart's career in Vienne in 1784 is viewed through his works and correspondence. The first movement of K. 453 and its available cadenzas are analyzed. Pianists Malcolm Bilson, David Buechner, Lilian Kallir, Peter Serkin, and Robert Levin, share their thoughts on writing and improvising cadenzas, revealing the structured and spontaneous aspects in the creation of a cadenza. |
