Mozart, W.A. - Nine Variations on a Minuet by Jean-Pierre Duport, K.573

The Variations on Jean-Pierre Duport’s Minuet, K. 573 (originally for solo piano) are a product of Mozart’s final years, created in preparation for a visit to the royal court in Potsdam during the spring of 1789.

Exuding the childlike wonder and capacity for joy that Mozart sustained throughout his life, these sunny and playful variations could almost pass for music from his youth. Only one variation reveals that they were written in one of his darkest periods: the Adagio in D Minor. Of an unearthly sadness, the Adagio presages Pamina’s famous aria “Ach, ich fuhls” from The Magic Flute, composed two years later. — Robert Stallman, Marblehead, Mass. (March 1, 2019)