Canon for 4 Winds (K. 089a/I) in A Major
ヴォルフガング・アマデウス・モーツァルト作
Mozart’s Canon for 4 Winds (K. 089a/I), composed in Salzburg in 1772, is a compact four-part canon in A major from his sixteenth year. Preserved in autograph among other studies and small-scale pieces, it shows the young composer treating strict counterpoint as something practical and playable—not merely academic.
Background and Context
In 1772 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was back in Salzburg between his Italian journeys, composing at speed across genres while continuing the disciplined study of counterpoint encouraged by his father Leopold. The surviving sources for K. 089a/I point to exactly that milieu: a short, self-contained canon transmitted in autograph and grouped with related canonic experiments (the so-called K. 89a group) rather than tied to a clearly documented public occasion.[1][2]
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The familiar description “for 4 winds” reflects how readily such a piece can be realized instrumentally. Like many of Mozart’s canons, the notation and layout suggest a flexible utility—music suitable for informal music-making or for demonstrating craft—more than a work aimed at a specific premiere or dedicatee.[1]
Musical Character
On the page, K. 089a/I is a strict four-voice canon: a single line generates the full texture through staggered entries (the autograph uses entry signs rather than writing out four fully independent melodies).[2] The choice of A major lends brightness and instrumental ease, and the canonic procedure keeps the music taut—less a “tune with accompaniment” than a miniature machine for producing consonant counterpoint.
Heard as wind music, the result is clean-lined and conversational: each part takes its turn as leader and follower, and the ear is drawn to how Mozart balances strict imitation with clarity of harmony. In this sense the canon belongs to his Salzburg apprenticeship in learned style, yet already hints at a mature habit: turning rule-bound technique into something immediately performable.
[1] Digital Mozart Edition (Mozarteum): NMA III/10 *Kanons* table of contents listing the four-part canon as H 10/05 (89a I; 73i; 1772).
[2] Neue Mozart-Ausgabe critical report PDF (Kritischer Bericht) noting sources and autograph details for KV 89a I (73i), including how entries are marked in the manuscript and its Berlin autograph location.