For the past several months I have immersed myself in the study of Mozart from the standpoint of his instrumentation, on the theory that one of the outstanding characteristics of the piano from the very outset was its ability to imitate other instrumental colors: it could talk; it could sing; it could substitute for orchestral strings; it could be a bassoon, an oboe, a flute, a horn.

To my surprise, this important instrumental attribute does not come up in discussions of his music.