Jon Batiste has never been particularly interested in keeping musical genres neatly separated, and “Alla Turc Movement” gives him one of classical music’s most recognizable melodies to play with. The piece reimagines Mozart’s celebrated “Rondo alla Turca,” the final movement of his Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, filtering the familiar music through Batiste’s unmistakably rhythmic and improvisational approach.
The track appears on Batiste’s 2026 album Black Mozart, the second installment in his Batiste Piano Series. The project approaches Mozart through the traditions of Black American music, incorporating elements of jazz, blues, ragtime, stride and gospel rather than treating the classical compositions as untouchable museum pieces.
That philosophy makes “Alla Turc Movement” particularly fun. Mozart’s original already possesses an infectious rhythmic quality, and Batiste uses that foundation as a launching point for something freer, looser and unmistakably contemporary. Instead of simply performing Mozart, he enters into a musical conversation with him—allowing a composition written more than two centuries ago to dance through another generation. It is classical music with its collar loosened, reminding us that these famous works were once new music too.
You can grab this masterpiece or his entire album "Black Mozart" over on Amazon and iTunes.
