He selected Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor and hit play. It was six-thirty, so he had half an hour to shower and change before he went out.This concerto had been written towards the end of Mozart’s life and was widely considered to be a masterpiece. Influential, too. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor was inspired by this. It was also something of an oddity in that it was one of only two minor-key concertos that Mozart wrote, and one of only three where the first movement was in 3/4 time. Technical details aside, Winter loved it for the drama of the opening movement. And the playful variations on the main theme near the start of the third movement always made him smile.Over the years he’d collected recordings of every piece that Mozart had written. For some of the more popular pieces he had three or four versions. His aim was to own the defining performances of each work. It was a never-ending task. Mozart was more popular now than he’d ever been, so new recordings were appearing all the time.Eyes closed, he stood in the middle of the room conducting an imaginary orchestra.
