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Violin Concerto in G major
No. 3 "Straßburg-Concert"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart in 1777
Key	G major
Catalogue	K. 216
Composed	1775 (1775)
Movements	Three (Allegro, Adagio, Rondeau)
Scoring	Violin orchestra

The Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Salzburg in 1775 when he was 19 years old. In a letter to his father, Mozart called it the "Straßburg-Concert". Researchers believe this epithet comes from the motive in the third movement's Allegretto in the central section, a local dance that already had appeared as a musette-imitating tune in a symphony by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo violin, two flutes (second movement only), two oboes (tacet in the second movement), two horns in G and D, and strings.

Movements

The piece is in three movements:

1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Rondeau: Allegro

I. Allegro

The Allegro is in sonata form, opening with a G major theme played by the orchestra. The main theme is a bright and happy discussion between the solo violin and the accompaniment, followed by a modulation to the dominant D major, then to its parallel key D minor. It experiments in other keys, but does not settle and eventually, heads back to the tonic, G major, in the recapitulation.

II. Adagio

The second movement is in ternary form in the dominant key of D major. The orchestra begins with the main theme, which the violin imitates one octave higher. The winds then play a dance-like motif in A major, which the violin concludes. The violin restates the main theme in A major, although the melody features A sharp instead of A natural, creating a brief modulation to B minor. It soon modulates back to A major, then to the home key of D major through the main theme. After the cadenza, the violin plays the main theme again, thus concluding the movement in D.

This is the only movement in the five violin concertos by Mozart where a pair of flutes are used instead of oboes.

III. Rondeau

The finale is a rondo in G major and in
₈ time. Mozart inserts into the rondo a short G minor Andante section followed by a longer G major Allegretto section, both in cut time.

Recordings

References

1. Lempfrid, Wolfgang. "Wolfgng Amadeus Mozart: Konzert für Violine und Orchester in D-Dur, KV 218" (in German). koelnklavier.de. Retrieved 30 July 2019., EMI CD booklet contribution
2. Steinberg, Michael (1998). The Concerto: A Listener's Guide. Oxford University Press. pp. 324–325. ISBN 978-0-19-513931-0.
3. Irving, John. "Liner notes" (PDF). BIS Records. Retrieved 29 March 2017. – Richard Tognetti – Australian Chamber Orchestra – Violin Concertos 3 & 5
4. "Mozart – Arthur Grumiaux – The London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis – Violin Concerto No. 3 In G Major, K.216; Violin Concerto No. 5 In A Major K.219". Discogs.
5. "Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 / Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major". Naxos. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

External links

•  Concerto in G, K. 216: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
• Violin Concerto No. 3: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

• Classical music

• Violin concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• 1775 compositions
• Compositions in G major