Up until recent times, it was common for soloists to improvise or compose new cadenzas. Somehow, with the stratification and separation of roles (composer versus performer, classical player vs. improvisor), this approach has been neglected. Such"tampering" is considered off limits, even sacrilegious.
Yet, the music of the past is not a sacred relic, but a living organism. In that spirit, I've composed a new cadenza for the Mozart G Major violin concerto. The approach I took is not unlike how I compose my own music, thinking structurally, generating ideas, filtering those ideas and searching for a coherent form for their expression.
Weighing in at just about 30 measures, it is shorter than the cadenzas that are often used. It moves rapidly from G major to the distant key of B major, then works its way back to G. It includes virtuosic passages as well as a tranquillo section. Its style strays from that of Mozart without being jarringly incongruous.
If you are a violinist and would like to try this cadenza, please contact me for a copy.