Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Major, KV Anh. 9: I. Allegro-Sinfonietta de Chambord/Amaury du Closel/Georges Deplus/André Cazalet

All three movements are rooted in E flat major, a key shared by the "Jeunehomme" Piano Concerto (No. 9; K. 271) and the later Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola (K. 364/320d). The opening Allegro has three (rather than two) expositions of the principal and secondary subjects, first by the orchestra's strings, then twice by the solo quartet. Development and reprise ensue, with a through-composed cadenza before the coda. Though the nineteenth century source copy marked the middle movement Adagio, an Andante tempo is likelier, continuing in a vein of almost reflective lyricism with gentle exchanges of thematic material. Like the first movement, this one is in common time (4/4). The finale, Andante con variazioni, is in 2/4 until, after the last variation, six Adagio bars in common time lead to an Allegro coda in 6/8. There are ten variations altogether, each one 15 or 16 bars long, with identical, basically decorative orchestral ritornelli separating them.