Allegro for Basset Horn in F (fragment), K. 484e
av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Allegro for basset horn in F (fragment), K. 484e, is a surviving torso from his Vienna years, preserved as a single movement draft on one page. Though sometimes described in concerto-like terms, what remains is best understood as a brief, incomplete Allegro—a glimpse of Mozart’s quick, idiomatic thinking for the basset horn at age 29.
What Is Known
The Allegro fragment K. 484e is transmitted in Mozart’s autograph (dated 1785) and survives only as a single-page part (“Stimmen: 1 Bl. (1 S.)”), indicating that just one written-out line is extant rather than a full score with accompaniment.[1]
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The Mozarteum catalogue describes the piece as “Allegro in F or in G for basset horns” (fragment) and marks it as an uncompleted but authentic work.[1] Modern editions place it among Mozart’s wind divertimento/serenade materials in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe.[2]
Musical Content
What survives suggests a lively, forward-driving Allegro line conceived idiomatically for the basset horn’s vocal middle register—music that can sing and articulate rapidly, rather than merely provide harmonic filler. With no complete accompaniment preserved, any “concerto” framing remains conjectural; the fragment reads instead as a standalone solo strand that may once have belonged to a larger wind setting.[1]
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for KV 484e (status, dating, surviving source description).
[2] IMSLP work page referencing the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe placement and providing access to the NMA scan (context for modern edition/tradition of transmission).