{"id":6923,"date":"2022-10-17T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T06:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.henle.de\/blog\/en\/?p=6923"},"modified":"2022-11-18T16:39:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T15:39:14","slug":"an-annoying-mini-error-in-mozarts-violin-concerto-k-219","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/2022\/10\/17\/an-annoying-mini-error-in-mozarts-violin-concerto-k-219\/","title":{"rendered":"An annoying mini-error in Mozart\u2019s Violin Concerto K. 219"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, David Perry, a Canadian violinist, criticised what he considered to be a wrong appoggiatura note in my Urtext edition of the Mozart A-major Violin Concerto K. 219, concerning measure 69 in the first movement. In Mozart\u2019s autograph<\/a> there seems to be no doubt about the appoggiatura note a<\/em>2 <\/sup>to the main note d<\/em>3<\/sup>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mozart, Autograph, Violin Concerto in A major<\/em>, K. 219, mm. 68\/69 Washington, Library of Congress, online-scan: Image 15\/101<\/p><\/div>\n

Mr Perry was bothered not only by the appoggiatura note at the interval of a fourth, which is unusual for Mozart, not to say impossible, but he also referred to the \u2013 usual \u2013 grace-note writing in the prior measure and to the parallel passages in mm. 170\/171.<\/p>\n

The appoggiatura note at the fourth is indeed strange, but that\u2019s the way it is, and it fits perfectly into the harmony (a<\/em>2 <\/sup>is to be heard here on all modern recordings of K. 219). And that\u2019s why it is also reproduced in our Urtext edition exactly so (as, incidentally, it is also to be found in the B\u00e4renreiter edition), with my additional \u201ccautionary\u201d footnote: \u201cThe contrasting appoggiaturas in mm. 68\/69 and 170\/171 are reproduced exactly as they appear in the autograph.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was about to compose a friendly and regretting email when, on close inspection of the autograph passage, I suddenly noticed that the appoggiatura note in question is notated \u201ctoo high\u201d, that is, on the SAME leger line as the main note\u2019s upper leger line. If Mozart really wanted to write and hear the appoggiatura fourth a<\/em>2<\/sup>, then he would have written the leger line and with it the entire grace note lower. And then it was clear to me that Mozart simply forgot to write the lower leger line. It is APPARENTLY a2<\/sup><\/em> but meant to be the expected c#3<\/sup><\/em>. I\u2019m quite sure about that: missing there is simply the bottom leger line.<\/p>\n

Dear violinists: You are welcome to take the (rewarding) time to leaf through the whole Mozart autograph<\/a>. This movement is teeming with grace notes. As usual, they are all at the interval of a second from above or below. And Mozart always writes the notes, including the leger line(s), exactly at the level of the respective main note. In m. 69, too, but missing only here, unfortunately, is the bottom leger line.<\/p>\n

So, from now on, you should correct the erroneous a2<\/sup><\/em> in m. 69 to the correct c#3<\/sup><\/em>. \u00a0And in our next Urtext edition of this work, I shall correct this annoying little error.\u00a0 Thank you, David Perry!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, David Perry, a Canadian violinist, criticised what he considered … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,3,275,24,79,518],"tags":[28,651,520],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6923"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6928,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923\/revisions\/6928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.henle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}