Piano Concerto No. 23 New York Performances

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, written in Vienna in 1786, belongs to the period when he was shaping public concert life around his own playing and new works. Its character lies in clean melodic lines and a conversational balance between piano and orchestra, with the slow movement turning inward in a darker key. At Bargemusic in New York, Alexandra Joan joins the Semplice Players in a program that pairs it with Beethoven’s “Emperor,” placing two models of the concerto side by side. One can hear how Mozart’s restraint carries its own weight.