Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Konzert Nr. 1 D-Dur KV 412 (386b)

The two-movement Horn Concerto in D major, K. 412, which has survived in incomplete form, was long considered Mozart's first horn concerto, but it is his last, written between March and December 1791. In the autograph, which contains the most important orchestral parts in addition to the entire solo horn part, Mozart made revisions to adapt the work to the diminished technical abilities of the intended soloist, Joseph Leutgeb. He revised and completed the first movement, eliminating lower notes in the solo part, rewriting difficult passages, and expanding orchestral interludes to give Leutgeb additional breathing room. Mozart began similar simplifications in the second movement, but his early death prevented its completion. Robert D. Levin reconstructs both versions of the concerto on the basis of the autograph and thus presents for the first time not only the version revised by Mozart (post correcturam) but also the original version (ante correcturam) in a musical text prepared and supplemented according to strict philological criteria.