Horn Concerto No. 4 (Mozart)
| Horn Concerto in E-flat major | |
|---|---|
| No. 4 | |
| by W. A. Mozart | |
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The composer in 1782
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| Key | E-flat major |
| Catalogue | K. 495 |
| Genre | Concerto |
| Style | Classical period |
| Composed | 1786 |
| Movements | Three (Allegro, Larghetto, Allegro) |
| Scoring |
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major, K. 495 was completed in 1786.
The work is in three movements:
The manuscript, written in red, green, blue, and black ink, was formerly considered as a jocular attempt to rattle the intended performer, Mozart's friend Joseph Leutgeb. However, recently it was suggested that the multicolored score may also be a kind of "color code".
The last movement is a "quite obvious" example of the hunt topic, "in which the intervallic construction, featuring prominent tonic and dominant triads in the main melody, was to some degree dictated by the capability of the horn, and so was more closely allied with the original 'pure' characteristics of the 'chasse' as an open-air hunting call."
This concerto is one of Mozart's two horn concerti to have ripieno horns (horns included in the orchestra besides the soloist), though, in contrast to K. 417, the solo horn in this one duplicates the first ripieno horn's part in the tutti passages.
Given its duration (no more than 20 minutes), it is quite common to find this Horn Concerto with Mozart's other three.
Discography on modern instruments:
Discography on period instruments:
In 1963 Flanders and Swann set the Rondo movement to words for their song "Ill Wind" from the album At the Drop of Another Hat.
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