Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1791. Approximate performance time is twenty-four minutes.

Although Mozart, the instrumentalist, is best known as a keyboard virtuoso, he was also a highly accomplished violinist. In 1772, the Archbishop of Salzburg appointed the 16-year-old Mozart as conductor and concertmaster of the Salzburg Court Orchestra. In 1777-8, Mozart traveled throughout Europe, astonishing listeners with his command of both piano and violin.

Mozart’s father, Leopold, once counseled his son: “You don’t realize yourself how well you play the violin when you are on your mettle and perform with confidence, spirit, and fire.” Still, Wolfgang was not shy in reporting his success. On October 6, 1777, Mozart wrote to his father that as a concert finale, he played his B-flat Divertimento, K. 287, and the members of the audience “all opened their eyes! I played as though I were the finest fiddler in all Europe.”

It had long been thought that Mozart composed all five of his Violin Concertos in 1775 when he was nineteen (he completed the G-Major on September 12, 1775). However, more recent scholarship suggests that Mozart may have written the First Violin Concerto as early as 1773. It is not entirely certain whether Mozart initially composed the works specifically for his own use, or for the Italian violinist Antonio Brunetti—himself a leader of the Salzburg Court Orchestra.

Mozart did perform these Concertos and certainly intended them to display the technical fluency and pure singing tone that were hallmarks of his playing. In a letter of October 23, 1777, written from Augsburg, Mozart informed Leopold: “In the evening at supper, I played my Strassburg Concerto, which went like oil. Everyone praised my beautiful pure tone.” Here, Mozart refers to his Violin Concerto No. 3, which includes a popular melody in the finale known as “The Strassburger.” 

The Third Violin Concerto’s graceful opening movement (Allegro) begins with the traditional double exposition of the principal themes by the orchestra and soloist. The predominantly minor-key development ends with a recitative-like passage, one of several operatic elements that appear throughout Mozart’s Violin Concertos. The recapitulation leads to a solo cadenza, followed by a brief, sprightly coda. In the Concerto’s slow-tempo movement (Adagio), the oboes are silent, replaced by the flutes. The solo violin assumes the role of the soprano voice so beloved by Mozart.

The Rondo finale (Rondeau. Allegro) is a marvelous example of Mozart employing established musical forms to highly individual and creative effect. The movement begins in typical rondo fashion with the introduction of a tripping, principal theme. But the contrasting sections offer more pathos than usual. In a particularly inventive sequence, a brief pause is followed by a transition from the opening 3/8 meter and quick tempo, to an Andante in duple meter. The soloist, over pizzicato accompaniment, offers a melancholy tune. Suddenly the tempo and mood are transformed once again, with an Allegretto passage featuring a rustic folk melody. After a reprise of the principal theme, the finale proceeds to a restrained conclusion.