While composing The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart found the time to write three brilliant piano concertos. He finished the middle one, the K. 488 in A major, on 1 March 1786. A major seldom features in Mozart, and then only in his later works. It conveys a distinctive atmosphere of bliss and lyrical melodiousness.

In the opening movement of the K. 488 piano concerto, for example, it is not only the second theme but also the main theme that takes on this character. At the start of the movement Mozart clearly indicates that the strings and the winds are about to play an equal role. Responding to one another, complementing each other, the instrumental groups enter into a vivid conversation which the piano joins in a so-called solo exposition where,presenting and instantly varying the themes, adding an effervescent stream of notes to the form. The middle Adagio movement is in ‘dark toned’

F sharp minor. The contemplative, soliloquy of the piano conveys in an expressively melodious manner a profoundly solemn message, and only the A major middle section eases up the solemnity for a short while. The finale is an irresistibly vibrant sonata rondo characterised by an abundance of themes and motifs, a fitting match for the first movement in length and elaboration.