Adagio in E for Violin and Orchestra (Mozart)

1776 composition by W. A. Mozart

The Adagio in E major for Violin and Orchestra, K. 261, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1776. It was probably a replacement movement for the original slow movement of his Violin Concerto No. 5 in A. It is believed that Mozart wrote it specifically for the violinist Antonio Brunetti, who complained that the original slow movement was "too artificial".^[1] The work is scored for solo violin, two flutes, two horns in E and strings.

$\relative c'' { \override Score.NonMusicalPaperColumn #'line-break-permission = ##f \key e \major \tempo "Adagio" b4\f a16(gis) a(b) b8..( bis32 cis8) r | a4\p gis16(fis) gis(a) a8..( ais32 b!8) r | gis4\f fis16(e) dis(e) a4 gis16(fis) e(dis) | b'8\p( bis) cis (fis) e16(dis) cis(b) ais(b) a(fis) | }$

It is one of the few compositions Mozart wrote in the key of E major: Piano Trio No. 4, K. 542; the incomplete Horn Concerto, K. 494a; the incomplete fugue, Anh. C27.10.

Notes

^ "About this Recording", (Violin Concertos Nos. 3 and 5 (Takako Nishizaki, Cappella Istropolitana, Stephen Gunzenhauser, Naxos Records)

External links

Adagio in E für Violine und Orchester: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
Adagio in E major, K. 261: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Animated score on YouTube, Arthur Grumiaux, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Raymond Leppard, 1967

Concertos and other concertante works for violin by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Violin Concertos

No. 1 in B-flat major, K. 207
No. 2 in D major, K. 211
No. 3 in G major, K. 216 (Straßburg)
No. 4 in D major, K. 218
No. 5 in A major, K. 219 (Turkish)

Individual movements

Adagio in E major, K. 261
Rondo in B-flat major, K. 269/261a
Rondo in C major, K. 373

Multiple instruments

Concertone for Two Violins and Orchestra in C major, K. 190/186E
Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra in D major, K. Anh. 56/315f (fragment)
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in E-flat major, K. 364/320d
Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola, Cello and Orchestra in A major, K. Anh 104/320e (fragment)

Doubtful

Violin Concerto (No. 7) in D major, K. 271a/271i (Kolb)

Spurious

Violin Concerto (No. 6) in E-flat major, K. 268/365b/Anh.C 14.04, attributed to Johann Friedrich Eck
Violin Concerto in D major, K. Anh. 294a/Anh.C 14.05 (Adélaïde), by Marius Casadesus