MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus

Sonata for keyboard in D major K 284

II. Rondeau en polonaise. Andante

Zoltán Kocsis, guest professor

David Kadouch, student

According to Zoltán Kocsis, the performance of this movement should be simpler. Then, Kocsis explains the student that Polonaise must be played characterizing more its tempo. Here, the "keyword" is accent: if the student performs accents correctly, he will achieve the suitable character. To show this, the professor plays several fragments.
In certain moments it is also recommended not to hold back the tempo so much. Besides, Kocsis corrects articulation in a certain passage and later he highlights the recommendation to the student about not doing so much ritenuto and diminuendi, because this breaks the general character. Moreover, the sound should be more risoluto.
After some indications related to pedal, dynamics and staccato, Kocsis points out the importance to imagine the different voices as if they were instruments of the orchestra.
In professor’s opinion, there is no place for agogics in dances: those must be performed with metrical rigor.
Lastly, prof. Kocsis thinks that it is not necessary to underline so much the second theme, because it is not a "real theme": Mozart's compositions are plenty of similar cases, for example in the 2nd movement of his "Prague" Symphony.

Language: English