Name: Rafael Font Viera
Main Subject: Baroque Violin
Research Coach: Bart van Oort
Title of Research: Cadenzas for Mozart’s Violin Concertos: An analysis of Mozart’s
own cadenzas and how their style can be translated to the violin
Research Question:
How can I prepare cadenzas for the violin concertos of Mozart in a way that is consistent
with his compositional style during the time of writing (1773-1775)?
Summary of Results:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s five violin concertos were written in the period between
1773 and 1775, before he had even turned 20 years old and before he had fully developed
his compositional style. It is the belief of this research’s author that to fully complement
these concertos, the cadenzas performed within them should match the composer’s style
during this specific period of time. It is the purpose of this research to identify this style
and more specifically the composer’s expectations of what a cadenza for his concertos
should accomplish. In order to do this, we will take a two part approach. The first one
consists of a detailed study of instructions on the performance cadenzas given by
historical treatises that Mozart would have known, including among others those of
Leopold Mozart and Johann Joachim Quantz. The second section looks at the cadenzas
Mozart himself wrote during this specific time of his life, including five piano concertos,
and one later work, the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, which represents the
only cadenza he ever wrote for a stringed instrument. The presentation will show in detail
how closely Mozart followed the historical instructions by Quantz et al. on performing
cadenzas in specific examples of his musical writing as well as give some general
recommendations of adapting his style to the violin. This will be accompanied by
selected recordings of Mozart’s cadenzas for piano as well as a demonstration of a
possible violin cadenza for one of his violin concertos.
Biography:
Rafael Font Viera started his violin studies in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2013 he completed
his Bachelor in Music studies in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London with
teachers Jacqueline Ross and Pavlo Beznosiuk. Rafael has performed in many world
class venues including the Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Halls, with groups such as the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Nuova Musica and La Serenissima. Rafael is
a keen performer of chamber music in period instruments ranging from late renaissance
to romantic as well as contemporary music. Rafael is currently studying at the Royal
Conservatory of the Hague with Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter.