Burleske

Leopold Mozart compiled the Notenbuch für Wolfgang — a manuscript book of small keyboard pieces — for his seven-year-old son in 1762. The notebook contains short character studies of which the Burleske (a comic, bustling piece) is among the most often anthologised. Like the Bach Anna Magdalena book, the Notenbuch sits at the centre of mid-eighteenth-century pedagogical writing for young keyboardists.

The piece is in F major and tests bright detached articulation in both hands, a clean tempo, and a small dynamic plan that contrasts the two strains. The right hand carries a chattering melodic line built from short repeated motifs; the left hand provides a stepping bass with simple two-note responses. Hand position stays in a five-finger frame for most of the piece, with one or two short reaches.

Two pitfalls. First, the burlesque character lives in the articulation — students who play it legato lose the comic edge, and the piece flattens into a generic Classical reading. Aim for crisp non-legato in the right hand and a cleanly-stepped left hand. Second, the repeats of each strain often get played identically; a small dynamic step on the repeat (a touch quieter is the conventional choice) gives the piece its proper architectural shape.

The full Notenbuch für Wolfgang is on IMSLP; hearing the surrounding pieces calibrates the right Classical poise for an eight-year-old's keyboard music.