Concertos No. 11, 12, and 13 were Mozart’s first Concertos written upon moving to Vienna from Salzburg. In a letter addressed to his father Leopold, he described them as “a happy medium between too easy and too difficult; very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and natural, without being vapid.” By then, Mozart was free of his father’s dominating presence. He wrote them to win over Vienna, and they did, firmly establishing him as Europe’s premier composer.

But with these pieces, he was also seeking confirmation from his father. And the desire for parental approval is a basic one. Indeed, there are many moments in the Concertos, whether sublime or gallant or majestic, where one still feels a sense of child-like wonder.