This paper outlines a theoretical model depicting the developing nature of the Mozartian concerto first movement. It demonstrates that, alongside structural development, several concertos (particularly K. 453, 467, and 482) exhibit an incipient quality of progress—a counterpart to corresponding phenomena in Enlightenment culture. Progress presupposes change (von Wright 1963), specifically change for the better (Niiniluoto 2011), leading to the concept of progressive human nature (Gill 2006). This paper investigates the types of changes within a Mozart concerto that facilitate the emergence of moral character and progress as the form unfolds. A central narrative element is the shift in moral sentiments (Hume; Gill 2006). The paper conceptualizes the dialogue between soloist and orchestra as an interaction among musical actors carrying these sentiments. Moral sentiments—and their musical negations via modal mixtures (minor mode variants)—form a progressive trajectory unique to each concerto. This establishes an 18th-century narrative counterpart to the modern concept of musical "development."

To elucidate these analytical qualities, the paper constructs specific music-analytical tools and methodologies. These include semantic spaces and sub-spaces containing the qualities necessary to reveal the normative moral character of thematic actors, a prerequisite for moral and ethical inferences. These spaces seek a state of dynamic coherence, where each subspace settles into reflective equilibrium (Rawls 1999) regarding its underlying moral basis. Formal music-analytical meaning achieves balance with culturally based moral meanings originating in progressive moral sentiments. To capture the process of normative change, epistemic, deontic, and anaphoric (backwards related) subspaces are postulated. The implication is that music-theoretical inferences seek balance with underlying moral principles. The totality of these spaces is termed the "concerto space." Functioning at the juncture of syntagmatic and paradigmatic axes, these spaces allow the inner and outer dimensions to intersect. The semantic content of the soloist is represented as the existential semiotic Moi (individual signification), and that of the orchestra as the Soi (social signification) (Tarasti 2015). This constitutes the crucial moment in a concerto movement, opening the path for existential experience. The outcome is a set of models bridging the gap between the modern sense of development and the 18th-century idea of progress, arguing that what is termed "development" is derived from an early form of cultural, artistic, and moral progress. To achieve this, the paper employs a combination of contemporary and contemporaneous music-analytical and moral-philosophical tools.

References 

Gill, M. (2006). The British Moralists on Human Nature and the Birth of Secular Ethics. Cambridge University Press.

Niiniluoto, I. (2011)Ö. Progress by Enlightenment: Fact or Fiction? Temenos Vol. 47 No. 1, pp. 97–110.ö

Rawls, J. (1999). A Theory of Justice, revised edition. Belknap Press.

Tarasti, E. (2015). Sein und Schein. Mouton de Gruyter

von Wright, G.H. (1963). Norm and Action: A Logical Enquiry. Routledge & Kegan Paul.