There are many aspects of Mozart’s writing that are truly brilliant. Today we are going to bring up just one point which is something I’m sure you’ve heard but you may not be familiar with the term; it’s called “alberti bass”. What is alberti bass?
To demonstrate, I play the famous Mozart C major Sonata K. 545 playing the left hand in chords first. Then I will show you some variations and finally end up with the alberti bass as Mozart composed the piece. As soon as you hear it, you’ll instantly recognize it as something you hear all the time in Mozart’s piano music.
There are several embellishments you can try such as alternating between the bass note and the top two notes of each chord. Mozart takes it one step further alternating notes within the chord. When you hear this iconic sound, you’ll recognize it because you hear it in almost every piece Mozart wrote for the piano!
There are hundreds of examples of alberti bass in not only Mozart’s music, but it’s also a common technique of other classical composers such as Haydn and Beethoven. I hope this has been enjoyable for you! Again, this is Robert Estrin as Living Pianos. Robert@LivingPianos.com