About this edition
Composed in March 1786 and premiered by Mozart himself just weeks before the debut of The Marriage of Figaro, the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K.491, stands as one of only two piano concertos Mozart wrote in a minor key — and arguably his most ambitious. Scored for the largest orchestra of any of his concertos, including both oboes and clarinets alongside flutes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, and timpani, the work's stormy opening Allegro, songful Larghetto, and remarkable variations finale exerted a profound influence on Beethoven, who is famously said to have remarked to a colleague after hearing it, "We shall never be able to do anything like that."
This score reproduces the text published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1879 as part of the landmark Mozarts Werke — the first complete critical edition of Mozart's works, prepared by an editorial committee including Johannes Brahms, Joseph Joachim, and other leading musicians of the era. Issued as Serie XVI, Band 4, No. 24 (plate W.A.M. 491), this edition has long been valued by performers and scholars for its careful presentation and clean engraving, and it remains a foundational reference document for the concerto.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score (conductor's score), reproducing all parts in the standard arrangement
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches, suitable for study and rehearsal use
- Faithfully reproduced from the 1879 Breitkopf & Härtel Mozarts Werke historical edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing, specialists in carefully prepared reprints of historical orchestral scores
- Original German front matter and editorial markings preserved as in the source
This edition is a faithful reproduction of a public domain historical score, offered to make this masterwork readily available to conductors, pianists, students, and chamber musicians who wish to study it in detail. We hope it serves you well, whether at the podium, the keyboard, or the desk.
