Mozart composed the concerto #15 for performance at a series of concerts at the Vienna in the first quarter of 1784, where he was himself the soloist in March 1784.
In a letter to his father, Mozart compared this concerto with the #16 concerto in D:
“I consider them both to be concertos which make one sweat; but the B flat one beats the one in D for difficulty.”
Many pianists consider this to be one of the more difficult of Mozart’s piano concertos. The concerto is primarily difficult from its many quick scale patterns which must be played perfectly and also from its many fast chord patterns moving up and down.
Beginning with this concerto, Mozart began to use the term “grand” to describe his concerto such as K.450 which feature a prominent and required wind section for the ensemble.
Here is pianist Yeol Eum Son who does a terrific job in performing this music for you:
