This book is the first truly comprehensive analysis of the first movements ever attempted. The beginning of the book, devoted to the evolution of Mozart's concertos, provides a discussion of the search by North German composers (including members of the Bach family) for a concerto form that would give more prominence to solo instruments, a critical element in the development of the extended aria. Against this background, the author then discusses the evolution of Mozart's concertos in terms of the six early works based on Johann Christian Bach's London Galant form, the innovative principles and methods present in the seven "Melodic" concertos, and the absolute departure from both Galant and Melodic works evident in the last four concertos, which are truly symphonic, differing from all of Mozart's previous concertos "in scale, texture and structure, and employing a different method of treating thematic material". The second section of the book, a detailed, lucid, and stimulating exposition of all the first movements, discusses Mozart's compositional technique and his conception of the purpose of concerto composition.

Many of Mozart's own cadenzas are preserved, but many more that he improvised in performance were never written down. In that spirit, famed pianist Lili Kraus sensed an obligation and a challenge to follow the tradition of using her own cadenzas where no original was available. This collection, then contains Mozart's original cadenzas as well as editorial versions by Ms. Kraus for Concertos 1-27.