There’s a well known scene from the movie “Amadeus” where the composer Mozart is accused of writing too many notes. Of course, this causes a little bit of consternation (and maybe a chuckle) because we know that Mozart, of all the composers, is the one that seems never to write anything superfluous – just exactly what’s needed. In this particular sonata in C major, K. 545, Mozart has written a slow movement of great simplicity, and it’s clear that since it’s a teaching sonata, he would give this to a student and expect the student to be able to improvise a little bit upon that theme (especially as there’s a repeat at the end of the first section). But what indeed does one add to Mozart, in a piece where he’s written so many beautiful notes, that if you added one more, it wouldn’t work at all?
Pianist Sara Davis Buechner will be performing the entire cycle of Mozart Piano Sonatas at Alti Hall in Kyoto, Japan in a series of four recitals in September 2018. For more information, visit http://saradavisbuechner.com/schedule/