Mozart: Duo for Violin and Viola, K.424

Introduction

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's String Duo No. 2 in B-flat major for violin and viola, K. 424, the second of the two Mozart wrote to complete Michael Haydn's set of six for the Archbishop Colloredo, was written in the summer of 1783. It is in three movements:

1. Adagio, common time
2. Andante cantabile, E-flat major, 6/8
3. Andante grazioso, cut time

The last movement is a theme with six variations and a coda. As a whole, this duo blends in better with Haydn's four because the viola is more limited to providing harmony than in K. 423. The set of six was presented as all Haydn's, and Colloredo was unable to "detect in them Mozart's obvious workmanship."