Piano Concerto No. 17 (Mozart)
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The Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, KV. 453, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was written in 1784.
The work is orchestrated for solo piano, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings (violins divided into two, violas, cellos and double basses). In common with most concertos it is in three movements:
According to the date that the composer himself noted on the score, the concerto was completed on April 12, 1784. It was premiered by Mozart's student, Barbara von Ployer, on June 13, 1784 at a concert to which Mozart had invited Giovanni Paisiello to hear both her and his new compositions, including also his recently-written Quintet for Piano and Winds. Afterwards, von Ployer was joined by Mozart in a performance of the Sonata for Two Pianos, K. 448.
The work has been called charming and intimate, subtle, and profound. This concerto is widely regarded as one of Mozart's finest as each of the three movements is equally well written. The finale is a set of variations on what Alfred Einstein has described as a birdlike theme — and indeed there is a tale that Mozart had acquired the tune from his starling (but see this link. (http://www.starlingtalk.com/mozart3.htm))