The G minor Fugue, dating from 1771-3, is surprisingly little known, being a strong and inventive example of reasonably mature Mozart in Baroque ‘organ’ mode. Listed in the NMA as an organ piece, it is nevertheless unclear as to whether it is for piano or organ, or for either: while it lies very well for organ with pedals, and its style and texture reinforce this, it is pretty much impossible for the piano in places due to its wide stretches. On the other hand, at least one account exists of Mozart playing it successfully on the piano, much to the listeners’ surprise. It may well have been designed for pedal-piano (again, like some of Schumann’s works); there is indeed a variety of evidence about Mozart’s use of the pedal-piano, albeit from later in his career.

Although unfinished, K401 is fortunately complete as far as what seem unarguably like its penultimate stages, including along the way some vertiginous modulations to keys as remote as E minor, which a ‘completer’ would hesitate before daring to include. The completion by Stadler, included in the complete edition, has been widely adopted over the years; however, as an alternative I have employed the marginally fuller one by Christoph Albrecht for the Bärenreiter edition of the organ works.

from notes by David Goode © 2025