Marche funebre KV 453a

by W. A. Mozart (1756–1791)


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Instrument(s): Piano Style: Classical
Opus: KV 453a Date of composition: Wien, 1784
Source: Reproduction of Autograph Copyright: Public Domain    CC: No rights reserved
Last updated: 2015/Jan/17. View change history Music ID Number: Mutopia-2015/01/17-446
Typeset using: LilyPond, version 2.18.2  
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Mozart wrote this little march into the music-book of his pupil Barbara Ployer in 1784. The subtitle "del Signor Maestro Contrap[p]unto" (by Mr. Master Counterpoint) could be a humorous reference to Mozart himself, although no definitive evidence of this interpretation has been given.

It is interesting to note that the beginning rhythm (one quarter, one dotted eighteenth, one sixteenth, two quarters) is the same used in the main theme of piano concertos KV 451, KV 453, KV 456 and KV 459, all composed in 1784. Considering that at least one of them (KV 453) was intended to be played by Barbara Ployer, it is tempting to consider this little Funeral March as a musical caricature of the concertos.

Maurizio Tomasi, May 2004



Maintainer: Maurizio Tomasi zio_tom78 (at) hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/zio_tom78/