Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major, K.417

The concerto has three movements and unfolds like a friendly conversation between soloist and orchestra.

I. Allegro maestoso: The orchestra opens with a bright, confident theme built from simple rising notes, almost like a fanfare stretched into a tune. The horn enters with the same idea, then spins it into longer, more lyrical lines, alternating between smooth singing passages and quick, athletic runs. Listen for the give and take between soloist and strings, as if they are finishing each other's sentences.

II. Andante: A slower, tender movement where the horn plays a gentle, arching melody over softly moving strings. There is little display here, just a long unbroken line that lets the instrument's mellow, vocal quality come through. It feels like a quiet aside after the opening movement's energy.

III. Rondo, Allegro: The finale is a hunting-style romp in a lively 6/8 meter, the kind of galloping rhythm associated with horns in the hunt. A recurring, bouncy main tune keeps returning between contrasting episodes, and the horn gets several chances to leap and tumble through fast figures before the movement dashes to a cheerful close.

Mozart wrote this concerto in Vienna in 1783 for Joseph Leutgeb, a virtuoso horn player and old family friend from Salzburg who ran a cheese shop to supplement his musical income. Mozart wrote four such concertos for Leutgeb, and this one, K. 417, playfully bears Mozart's teasing dedication to his friend on the manuscript. It was composed for the natural horn, an instrument without valves, meaning Leutgeb had to shade pitches by hand inside the bell to get certain notes in tune. Despite, or perhaps because of, its jokes and its technical demands, the piece has remained one of the most performed works in the horn repertoire, prized by players and audiences alike for its combination of lyrical warmth and hunting-horn brightness.