SONATA IN D, FOR TWO PIANOS, K. 448 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. Salzburg, Austria, January 27, 1756; d. Vienna, December 5, 1791) 

Composed 1781; 23 minutes

“The young lady is a monster! (‘ein Scheusel’). But she plays enchantingly.” That was the 25-year-old Mozart’s blunt assessment of his pupil Josepha von Auernhammer, the only daughter of the socially prominent Viennese Economic Councilor Johann Michael von Auernhammer. When she became “sérieusement in love” with her teacher, Mozart felt compelled “to tell her the truth very politely.” 

But, writing to his father, he confessed: “A single look is a whole day’s punishment!” Yet irritation did not prevent collaboration. The two pianists performed together publicly no fewer than six times in the early 1780s, and Josepha even oversaw the engraving of several of Mozart’s works. His first Viennese publication – a set of six violin sonatas – was also dedicated to her.

Mozart wrote the Sonata in D major, K. 448 – arguably the earliest masterpiece in the two-piano repertoire – specifically for Josepha. They gave its first performance at her father’s house on November 23, 1781. While most fortepianos of the time extended only to a high F, Mozart includes an F-sharp in the finale – a knowing flourish for Josepha, who owned one of the newer instruments.

The sonata itself is perfectly proportioned – a characteristically judicious Mozartian marriage of form and content. The opening Allegro con spirito is compact, brilliant, and propulsive; Alfred Einstein called it an ideal sinfonia for an opera buffa. The slow movement unfolds with extraordinary poise, as melodies pass seamlessly between the two instruments. A good-humored, galant rondo brings this buoyant, assured work to a close.