Beethoven and Mozart

Mozart: Sonata for Flute and Piano in C Major No.5 K.14
I.Allegro
II.Allegro
III.Menuet I and II

Beethoven Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano WoO37 
​I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Thema Andante con Variazioni

Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat K452 
I. Largo- Allegro moderato
II. Larghetto
III. Allegretto

Date: January 30th, 2023
​Time: 7:00pm
Location: Central Presbyterian Church
Address: 7700 Davis Dr, Clayton, MO 63105
Admission: Free

Concert Artists

Mozart: Sonata for Flute and Piano in C Major No.5 K.14
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg in January of 1756. Although he lived a short life of only 35 years he composed a huge library of over 800 works! He rivals Beethoven as one of the most famous and important composers of all time.
Mozart was a well known prodigy during his lifetime and is still recognized as such today. When one listens to his Sonata for Flute and Piano it’s easy to forget that Mozart wrote the piece when he was a mere 8 years old! The Mozart family lived in London for a brief period during 1864-65. During this time young Amadeus Mozart was commissioned by Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III) to compose a series of six sonatas for keyboard and violin or flute. His Sonata for Flute and Piano in C Major was one of these six sonatas. The early versions of Mozart’s sonatas showed the influence that Haydn’s music had on the young composer. The sonatas were written in a similar style to Haydn’s early piano trios and included a cello part that could be improvised from the left hand part of the piano score.

Beethoven Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano WoO37
Ludwig Van Beethoven hardly needs an introduction as he is arguably the most famous composer of all time. Whether one realizes or not, there is rarely someone who hasn’t heard the famous theme of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Beethoven’s music has been performed countless times by musicians around the world for more than two centuries! Most recently his music has been used in numerous movie soundtracks and can also be heard referenced in pop
music.
Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany. His first music teacher was his father, who was apparently brutal on the young Beethoven. Eventually, Beethoven began lessons with composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe and in 1783, published his first work, a set of keyboard variations. He wrote the Trio for Flute, Bassoon, and Piano only a couple years later at the age of 15! The classical style of the trio demonstrates the influence Mozart’s music had onBeethoven’s earliest compositions. At some point early on in Beethoven’s career, the score was lost and wasn’t rediscovered until 1888, 61 years after his death.

Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat K452
In 1784, twenty years after composing his earliest set of sonatas, Mozart composed the Quintet for Piano and Winds K452. Mozart was extremely proud of this work, and it is said that he bragged to his father about the piece being the best he’d written. During the early 1780’s, Mozart was experiencing a huge amount of success as a composer and performer (mostly as a pianist) and was living an extravagant lifestyle. It is also interesting to note that in late 1784 Mozart became a Freemason and would remain heavily involved in the society for the rest of his life.