IGCSE Music from 2026: Area of study 2 Classical Music: Mozart Wind quintet K452 Video 2: Exposition

After a relatively long slow introduction, the Allegro moderato section of this movement is in sonata form. This important structure had become established in first and other movements of classical instrumental works, from solo piano sonatas to symphonies. Sonata form movements usually have:
• an exposition section, with a first subject in the tonic, a transition modulating to the dominant (or relative major if the work is in a minor key) and a second subject in the dominant (or relative major). The exposition is then repeated.
In this video, we are going to follow:
Exposition Eb: 1st subject Bars 21to 28
Transition Bars 29 to 42
2nd subject Bb: Bars 43 to 50 2nd beat (in the Dominant key)
Codetta Bars 50 3d beat to 65
Melodies are sometimes decorated with ornaments (trills in the oboe and piano in bars 23 and 24, turns in the piano in bar 45 and mordents in the piano in bars 66 and 67). There is occasional chromaticism in the melodies, such as in bars 44 and 45. The typical classical use of balanced phrases can be seen in the 1st subject, which is built from two-bar phrases. The 2nd subject begins with clear antecedent and consequent phrases.
The 1st subject has prominent syncopation, as do bars 54 to 57. The first two of these bars are particularly striking as the syncopation is played against the horn’s quavers. Mozart also introduces triplets from bar 29, increasing the excitement and momentum. These are first heard in the bassoon in bar 54 and are later taken up by the piano followed by other instruments (from bar 107). The players sometimes enter off the beat, such as the wind in bar 60 and the full ensemble in bars 66 and 67.
The musical dialogue often heard between the instruments is a crucial element of chamber music writing. Throughout the movement the instruments continually change roles from accompanying, to playing melodic material. However, the piano is the only instrument to play completely alone. There are examples of playing in (compound) sixths and octaves, such as at bar 27 where the piano LH and RH are in octaves, a compound sixth apart, while the clarinet and bassoon double the RH and LH respectively.
A piano accompaniment texture closely associated with the classical period is the Alberti bass. This is a specific broken triad shape, where the lowest note, highest note, middle note and highest note are played in that order. Though the piano in this work plays many broken chord patterns, there are no extended passages of Alberti bass, just occasional examples, e.g. bar 51 at the start of the second beat of the bar.