Mozart invented the genre of piano quartet by composing two of them during the 1780s while he was living in Vienna. The complexity and artistry of the quartets made them masterworks for connoisseurs but were commercial disasters with the general public. Today, they are regarded as landmark works that inspired future composers such as Brahms and Dvorak to compose their own.
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| THE GRABEN IN VIENNA 1782 |
The heroic key of the Eb Major opens the Piano Quartet 2 which is in the standard sonata form. The second movement contains many unexpected harmonic changes as well as diminished chords and deceptive cadences. The third movement is a hybrid form known as sonata rondo form.
