Symphony No. 39 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, K. 543, was completed on 26 June 1788.
was completed 25 July and No. 41
on 10 August. Around the same time, Mozart was writing his piano trio
s in E and C major, his sonate facile
, and a violin sonatina. Mozart biographer Alfred Einstein has suggested that Mozart took Michael Haydn
's Symphony No. 26
, in the same key, as a model.
It seems to be impossible to determine the date of the premiere of the 39th Symphony on the basis of currently available evidence; in fact, it cannot be established whether the symphony was ever performed in the composer's lifetime. According to Deutsch (1965), around the time Mozart wrote the work, he was preparing to hold a series of "Concerts in the Casino", in a new casino in the Spiegelgasse owned by Philipp Otto. Mozart even sent a pair of tickets for this series to his friend Michael von Puchberg
. But it seems impossible to determine whether the concert series was held, or was cancelled for lack of interest. In addition, in the period up to the end of his life, Mozart participated in various other concerts whose program included an unidentified symphony; these also could have been the occasion of the premiere of the 39th (for details, see Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
).
In modern times, the work is part of the core symphonic repertoire and is frequently performed and recorded.
, pairs of clarinet
s, bassoon
s, horn
s and trumpet
s, timpani
and strings
.
There are four movement
s:
The first movement opens with a majestic introduction with fanfares heard in the brass section. This is followed by an Allegro in sonata form
, though while several features – the loud outburst following the soft opening, for instance – connect it with the galant
school that influences the earliest of his symphonies. The independence of the winds and greater interplay of the parts in general, and the fact that the second theme group in those earlier symphonies was (to paraphrase Alfred Einstein) practically always completely trivial, which is not the case here, combine with the second group which contains several themes, including a particularly felicitous "walking theme". These are just a very few of the points that distinguish this movement from those works, from which it has more differences than similarities.
The slow movement, in abridged sonata form, i.e. no development section, starts quietly in the strings
and expands into the rest of the orchestra. Quiet main material and energetic, somewhat agitated transitions characterize this movement.
The work has a very interesting minuet and trio. The trio is an Austrian folk dance called a "ländler
" and features a clarinet solo. The forceful Menuetto is set off by the trio's unusual tint of the second clarinet playing arpeggio
s in its low (chalumeau) register.
The finale is another sonata form whose main theme, like that of the later string quintet in D
, is mostly a scale
, here ascending and descending. The development
section is dramatic; there is no coda
, but both the exposition, and the development through the end of the recapitulation, are requested to be and often are, repeated.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, K. 543, was completed on 26 June 1788.
Composition and premiere
The 39th Symphony is the first of a set of three (his last symphonies) that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. No. 40Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote....
was completed 25 July and No. 41
Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788. It was the last symphony that he composed.The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony...
on 10 August. Around the same time, Mozart was writing his piano trio
Piano trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music...
s in E and C major, his sonate facile
Piano Sonata No. 16 (Mozart)
The Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major, K. 545, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was described by Mozart himself in his own thematic catalogue as "for beginners," and it is sometimes known by the nickname Sonata facile or Sonata semplice....
, and a violin sonatina. Mozart biographer Alfred Einstein has suggested that Mozart took Michael Haydn
Michael Haydn
Johann Michael Haydn was an Austrian composer of the classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.-Life:...
's Symphony No. 26
Symphony No. 26 (Michael Haydn)
Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 26 in E-flat major, Perger 17, Sherman 26, MH 340, written in Salzburg in 1783, was the first in the set of the only three symphonies of Haydn's published in his lifetime. It was one of several E-flat major symphonies attributed to Joseph Haydn Michael Haydn's Symphony...
, in the same key, as a model.
It seems to be impossible to determine the date of the premiere of the 39th Symphony on the basis of currently available evidence; in fact, it cannot be established whether the symphony was ever performed in the composer's lifetime. According to Deutsch (1965), around the time Mozart wrote the work, he was preparing to hold a series of "Concerts in the Casino", in a new casino in the Spiegelgasse owned by Philipp Otto. Mozart even sent a pair of tickets for this series to his friend Michael von Puchberg
Michael von Puchberg
Johann Michael von Puchberg was a textile merchant who lived in Vienna in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
. But it seems impossible to determine whether the concert series was held, or was cancelled for lack of interest. In addition, in the period up to the end of his life, Mozart participated in various other concerts whose program included an unidentified symphony; these also could have been the occasion of the premiere of the 39th (for details, see Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote....
).
In modern times, the work is part of the core symphonic repertoire and is frequently performed and recorded.
Instrumentation and movements
The symphony is scored for fluteFlute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, pairs of clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.
There are four movement
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
s:
- Adagio, cut time – Allegro, 3/4
- Andante con moto, 2/4
- MenuettoMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
: Trio, 3/4 - Allegro, 2/4
The first movement opens with a majestic introduction with fanfares heard in the brass section. This is followed by an Allegro in sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
, though while several features – the loud outburst following the soft opening, for instance – connect it with the galant
Galant
In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era...
school that influences the earliest of his symphonies. The independence of the winds and greater interplay of the parts in general, and the fact that the second theme group in those earlier symphonies was (to paraphrase Alfred Einstein) practically always completely trivial, which is not the case here, combine with the second group which contains several themes, including a particularly felicitous "walking theme". These are just a very few of the points that distinguish this movement from those works, from which it has more differences than similarities.
The slow movement, in abridged sonata form, i.e. no development section, starts quietly in the strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and expands into the rest of the orchestra. Quiet main material and energetic, somewhat agitated transitions characterize this movement.
The work has a very interesting minuet and trio. The trio is an Austrian folk dance called a "ländler
Ländler
The ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
" and features a clarinet solo. The forceful Menuetto is set off by the trio's unusual tint of the second clarinet playing arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s in its low (chalumeau) register.
The finale is another sonata form whose main theme, like that of the later string quintet in D
String Quintet No. 5 (Mozart)
The String Quintet No. 5 in D major, K. 593 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Like all of Mozart's string quintets, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola .-Movements:...
, is mostly a scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
, here ascending and descending. The development
Musical development
In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical idea is communicated in the course of a composition. It refers to the transformation and restatement of initial material, and is often contrasted with musical variation, which is a slightly different means to the same...
section is dramatic; there is no coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, but both the exposition, and the development through the end of the recapitulation, are requested to be and often are, repeated.
External links
- The apartment where Mozart wrote his last three Symphonies: Michael Lorenz, "Mozart's Apartment on the Alsergrund" Article online