Mozart's cadenzas for the first movements of his piano concertos: The influence of harmonic symmetry on their function and structure

The symmetrical tonic-dominant-tonic harmonic relationships that characterize Mozart's sonata-type works are also exhibited in his first movement cadenzas for the piano concertos.;Structural relationships based on tonal symmetry have not previously been discussed in relation to Mozart's first movement cadenzas. However, this tonal symmetry is the fundamental structural precept by which Mozart's first movement cadenzas are organized. This architectural precept is reflected in each cadenza's proportions as well as in its harmonic relationships and rhythmic patterns.;Mozart's first movement cadenzas differ from the extemporaneous structure of cadenzas before Mozart's time. Those cadenzas had served primarily to bring attention to the improvisatory and virtusic skills of the soloists who performed them.