Essential Repertoire,
Piano Sheet Music Essentials: Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most memorable names in relation to classical music. A prolific and influential composer, his works include symphonies, operas, chamber music, instrumental, and vocal works.
In our Piano Sheet Music Essentials series, we aim to offer recommendations for some of the most popular piano pieces by a selection of celebrated composers, broken up into general difficulty level, so pianists of all ages and abilities can begin to explore the works of great classical composers. This article focuses on the work of Mozart, prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. Showing prodigious talent from an early age, his brilliance as a violinist, pianist, and composer was soon apparent. In 1773 he was appointed as a musician at the Salzburg court, but after a few years he became discontented with his situation there and decided to travel in search of a better position.
In 1781 he settled in Vienna where he worked as a freelance composer until his mysterious death in 1791 at the young age of thirty-five. He left behind an extraordinary musical legacy, inspiring generations of composers and classical musicians.
Easy - Intermediate Pieces
The pieces listed below are suitable for beginner to early intermediate pianists. As with all sheet music, some basic music theory and an understanding of how to read and interpret sheet music is required. Including some of the easiest works by Mozart, alongside transcriptions of more difficult pieces, this collection provides accessible choices for beginners and offers an introduction into the world of Mozart. The selections below include piano arrangements of themes from his most popular operas and instrumental music, as well as original compositions, such as his easier minuets, and movements from the London Sketch Book.
This collection of remarkable jewels by Mozart will be invaluable to teachers and students. The book features some of Mozart's earliest works, a few of which were composed when the young Wolfgang was only six years old. Already present are signs of remarkable taste and talent: beautiful melody, impeccable formal construction, and unsurpassed elegance. These pieces are wonderful tools for teaching articulation, independence of the hands, and the classical style.
Available Format: Sheet Music/CD
Even Mozart had to learn how to play the piano. This collection of easy works includes pieces composed by both young Mozart and by his father, for his piano lessons. Including pieces from the volume Notebook for Wolfgang alongside popular pieces by Mozart such as Ah vous dirai-je Maman (variations) and themes from Sonata in A major, KV 331 and Sonata in C major, KV 545.
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The pieces in the present volume are taken for the most part from Mozart's so-called London Sketch Book, written on his English tour in the year 1764, at the age of eight. There are also several earlier pieces which the young Mozart wrote in Salzburg in 1762. The original text has been retained; obvious errors in notation have been corrected.
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A fun collection of more than twenty of Mozart's works arranged for easy piano, including both perennial favorites and some less well-known treasures.
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This collection contains the most beautiful and technically easy of Mozart's piano pieces and dances. These miniatures can be used to enliven piano instruction and convey valuable insight into the richness of the composers music.
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Easy piano arrangements of twenty-two classical favorites by Mozart. Complete with background notes and playing hints and tips.
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Featuring the easiest works of Mozart. All selections are presented in their original, un-simplified form and are organized in progressive order of difficulty. It allows students to begin playing this music from authoritative editions at an early stage in their studies.
Available Format: Sheet Music/CD
This latest addition to the successful Get to Know Classical Masterpieces series provides an introduction to Mozart’s much-loved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. All four movements of the serenade have been arranged by Heumann making the piece accessible to both beginner pianists and music-lovers alike. The book includes a biography of key dates on the composer as well as a short history of the work. Full colour illustrations are provided after each movement which adds a certain charm to the publication.
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Intermediate – Early Advanced Pieces
The following pieces are suitable for intermediate to early advanced pianists. Some publications will include pieces that are easier to master, and some that are much more advanced. Our selections below include popular works such as Sonata facile, Rondo alla Turca, Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman" and many more.
This collection of thirty popular original compositions and arrangements for piano presents a selection of pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that will delight any pianist. Besides the Sonata facile and other popular educational pieces, this volume also contains many arrangements, such as the first movement from Eine kleine Nachtmusik or various opera arias. All pieces are of an easy or intermediate level of difficulty, with fingerings and metronome suggestions added.
Available Format: Sheet Music
From the 11th Sonata of K.331, Rondo Alla Turca is one of Mozart's most popular works. This is the third movement which took its inspiration from the quasi-Turkish music that was the fashion in Vienna during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Sections of the piece imitate the bass drums and cymbals which typify the military march genre, providing a greater sense of grandeur and a rousing dynamic.
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Mozart's most accessible piano sonata, Sonata facile (Easy Sonata), was written for students and is perfect for intermediate to early-advanced pianists.
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Only very few piano works have become as popular as this theme with twelve variations. It already caught on soon after Mozart’s death, as witnessed by the numerous handwritten copies and prints. Although nothing is known with any certainty regarding its genesis, we can now conclusively date Ah, vous dirai-je Maman to 1781. At that time Mozart wanted to make his way as a prominent piano teacher in Vienna. His variations still prove to be excellent teaching material.
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This collection features often-taught music spanning Mozart's entire career, pieces that prepare students for playing his sonatas.
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A fine collection of the most famous masterpieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for solo piano, now including a full performance CD. Pieces include A Musical Joke, Ave Verum Corpus and Fantasy In D Minor. Suitablefor pianists from grade 5 standard.
Available Format: Sheet Music/CD
Mozart - At The Piano
15 well-known original pieces in progressive order of difficulty with practical comments
This volume opens with especially easy minuets written by Mozart when he was just eight years old. A successful mix of well-known and unusual pieces leads the player all the way to the profound Fantasy in d minor. Selected individual movements from Mozart’s piano sonatas show the stylistic and emotional breadth and subtlety of his music, and offer manifold opportunities to practise and overcome specific technical challenges.
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Twelve well-known pieces, including the most often played Sonatas, Rondo in D Major K. 485, Sonatina in C Major, and Twelve Variations on Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman.
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Advanced – Professional Level Pieces
Lastly, these selections are most suited for advanced to professional level musicians, and includes some of the most challenging Mozart compositions. The publications below include the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas, and the Complete Variations.
For more than 200 years Mozart’s piano sonatas have been part of every pianist’s repertoire. Music that is clear and well laid out, with page turns in convenient places, makes this edition extremely user-friendly. Advice on performance by the renowned Mozart specialist Robert D. Levin provides fresh stimulus for what can otherwise too often become a rather tired interpretation.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Mozart's Mature Piano Pieces are published as part of ABRSM's Signature Series - a collection of authoritative performing editions of standard keyboard works, prepared from original sources by leading scholars. Includes informative introductions and performance notes.
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Mozart wrote piano variations throughout his career; the ealiest examples date from 1766, while the last work originated in 1791, the year of his death. On his concert tours Mozart drew storms of applause for his improvisations. This performing edition contains all of Mozart’s piano variations, including the surviving fragments. It consists of the definitive Urtext from the New Mozart Edition, a byword in absolute reliability and an indispensable basis for performances on the highest artistic level.
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Throughout his life Mozart composed individual pieces for the keyboard. This wealth of material offers us an exceptional insight into his musical development. In this edition Henle have offered all of these works in a single edition. The edition has been completely revised, taking into account the latest findings in Mozart scholarship. In many instances, sources which have only recently been made available or which have been newly interpreted have formed the cornerstone of the revision.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Gift Ideas for Mozart Aficionados
Piano lovers will find “their” Mozart for solo piano in fully commentated editions. The piano variations and the brand new revision of the piano pieces are new to the study edition series - an outstanding example of musicological thoroughness.
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Outstanding in their variety and degree of innovation, Mozart's piano concertos reflect his genius as a composer and demonstrate just why he has remained so popular. The first of the works was precociously written in 1767, when he was merely 11 years old, and yet the pieces all possess his characteristic keyboard mastery, experimentation with texture and a natural sensitivity to form and balance.
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Mozart's supremacy as a composer is nowhere more apparent than in his piano concertos, which were a life long preoccupation for him. This volume includes the Triple Concerto No. 7 in F, Mozart's only concerto for three pianos, with the composer's cadenzas for all three movements.
Full Scores of Concerto Nos. 11 - 27 are also available here.
Available Format: Sheet Music
Ellena Taylor - Sheet Music and Books Manager
