Mozart: The Symphonies

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The symphonies K. 19b, 66c, 66d, 66e, Anh.C 11.07, and Anh.C 11.08 are lost, and it is uncertain whether they are Mozart's work: they have not been included in the list below. In 1762, Mozart’s father took Nannerl, now age eleven, and Wolfgang, age six to the court of Bavaria in Munich in what was to become the first of several European "tours." The siblings traveled to the courts of Paris, London, The Hague, and Zurich performing as child prodigies. Mozart met a number of accomplished musicians and became familiar with their works. Particularity important was his meeting with Johann Christian Bach (Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son) in London who had a strong influence on Mozart. The trips were long and often arduous, traveling in primitive conditions and waiting for invitations and reimbursements from the nobility. Frequently, Mozart and other members of his family fell seriously ill and had to limit their performance schedule. Budding Young Composer

The first and second movements together constitute the overture to the opera Il sogno di Scipione, K. 126. The third movement is listed separately as K. 161/163. Excerpt from the third movement, “Presto,” of Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K 504 ( Prague); from a 1950 recording by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer. (more) Having failed to deliver my promised review of the Sony Bruno Walter – The Complete Columbia Collection (Sony 19075923242, Recording by Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. A little slow for my taste but one of the best available on Youtube. Mozart’s dislike of Salzburg is understandable, given that at the time the town was merely a small regional town. There was nothing more appealing than sitting around tables and chairs listening to music, and the people here were content to do so. Although Mozart despised Salzburg and had harsh words for his former employer, the Archbishop chose to come here and perform for Mozart. The Hofburg Palace, which is now a magnificent venue, houses imperial apartments, libraries, museums, churches, and riding schools, many of which are open to the general public. Salzburg has progressed greatly since Mozart’s time, and the town now has a wide range of unique attractions to offer residents and visitors alike. Mozart’s Love-hate Relationship With Salzburg

Beethoven, who was born in Germany in 1707, is best known for the nine symphonies he composed (often regarded as the greatest of all symphonists) of which the ninth (Choral, 1824) includes a mixed chorus and parts for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone in its The Two Giants Of Symphonic Composition: Haydn And Beethoven Favorite Moment:The fourth movement is one of Mozart’s greatest symphonic compositions and on the whole is incredible. My favorite moment is probably the building up to and first appearance of the movement’s shattering fortissimo theme.

Favorite Moment:The Adagio opening to the first movement is probably the most famous aspect of the symphony, but my favorite moment comes here at the end of the second movement. Mozart repeats a figure from earlier in the piece but switches up the orchestration building to the wonderfully melodic climax. Despite the large orchestration for this moment, the music retains a delicate air, giving a full but gentle sound fitting for the piece. Despite his success with the compositions, Mozart was growing discontent with his position as assistant concert master and the confining environment of Salzburg. He was ambitious and believed he could do more somewhere else. Archbishop von Colloredo was becoming impatient with the young genius’s complaining and immature attitude. In August 1777, Mozart set out on a trip to find more prosperous employment. The archbishop wouldn’t give Leopold permission to travel, so Anna Maria accompanied Wolfgang on his quest to the cities of Mannheim, Paris and Munich. There were several employment positions that initially proved promising, but all eventually fell through. He began to run out of funds and had to pawn several valuable personal items to pay traveling and living expenses. The lowest point of the trip was when his mother fell ill and died on July 3, 1778. After hearing the news of his wife’s death, Leopold negotiated a better post for his son as court organist in Salzburg and Wolfgang returned soon after. Making it in Vienna Leopold was a devoted and task-oriented teacher to both his children. He made the lessons fun, but also insisted on a strong work ethic and perfection. Fortunately, both children excelled well in these areas. Recognizing their special talents, Leopold devoted much of his time to their education in music as well as other subjects. Wolfgang soon showed signs of excelling beyond his father’s teachings with an early composition at age five and demonstrating outstanding ability on harpsichord and the violin. He would soon go on to play the piano, organ and viola. The first, second, and fourth movements together constitute the overture to the opera Lucio Silla, K. 135. The third movement, a minuet, is listed separately as K. 61h No. 3; it is this movement whose authorship is doubtful.

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Mozart and his father returned from their last stay in Italy in March 1773. His father’s benefactor, Archbishop von Schrattenbach had died and was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colleredo. Upon their return, the new archbishop appointed young Mozart as assistant concertmaster with a small salary. During this time, young Mozart had the opportunity to work in several different musical genres composing symphonies, string quartets, sonatas and serenades and a few operas. He developed a passion for violin concertos producing what came to be the only five he wrote. In 1776, he turned his efforts toward piano concertos, culminating in the Piano Concerto Number 9 in E flat major in early 1777. Mozart had just turned 21. In December 1769, Mozart, then age 13, and his father departed from Salzburg for Italy, leaving his mother and sister at home. It seems that by this time Nannerl’s professional music career was over. She was nearing marriageable age and according to the custom of the time, she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent in public. The Italian outing was longer than the others (1769-1771) as Leopold wanted to display his son’s abilities as a performer and composer to as many new audiences as possible. While in Rome, Mozart heard Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere performed once in the Sistine Chapel. He wrote out the entire score from memory, returning only to correct a few minor errors. During this time Mozart also wrote a new opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto for the court of Milan. Other commissions followed and in subsequent trips to Italy, Mozart wrote two other operas, Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). The opening of the brilliant K133 (No 20) has a splendid swing, with its prominent trumpets, and a real sense of a big, symphonic piece. K184 (No 26) is duly fiery and its accents are neatly judged. K201 and K202 (Nos 29 and 30) are both very impressively done: an eloquent rather than a fiery account (though something of that too) of the opening movement of K201, with a particularly euphonious and shapely Andante. However, thanks to the release of recordings by some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, symphonies have begun to gain popularity in recent years. There is no longer a need to limit music listening to live performances; it is now possible to listen to the music whenever and wherever you want. Who Wrote Many Symphonies? Favorite Moment:Building off the comment on appogiaturas above, the third movement, the Minuet, can either be one of my favorite Mozart movements or a forgettable let down. In the Krips version I linked above, the appogiaturas are played as eight notes on the beat giving the lilt necessary for a dance piece and the rousing momentsa sense of grandeur (compare to this performance where the appogiatura are played as grace notes.)

The symphony numbers in the range 42 to 56 are sometimes used for symphonic works that were not numbered in the 1-41 sequence. They have been included for completeness, although they are out of chronological sequence. In addition, some authentic symphonies were never given numbers. The symphonies in the 1-41 chronological sequence have been listed first; the symphonies that were given the numbers 42-56 are listed next; and lastly are listed the remaining symphonies. The symphonies given numbers past 41 are sometimes listed with "GA" preceding the number, because these numbers were from the Over 600 pieces of orchestral, chamber, opera, and choral music were composed by the German composer. Mozart grew up in the Mozart family‘s musical home of Salzburg. Symphony No. 28 is, in my opinion, the most overlooked of his symphonic works. I admit on the surface nothing looks remarkable: the piece is in C, features Mozart’s typical instrumentation and is in a basic four movement structure. While nothing jumps out as genius, it is consistently engaging the listener with clever melodic writing, each movement making the most of it’s brief runtime. Interestingly, although recordings are much less frequent than his later symphonies, I find the 28th to have the most variation in interpretation. There are the typical Mozart differentiations, like inclusion of repeats and tempo, but most noticeable is the approach taken towards appogiaturas.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. He wrote over 600 pieces of music, including symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber music. Many of his works are still popular today and are performed regularly by orchestras around the world. So how many symphonies did Mozart actually write? The answer is 41. Mozart composed his first symphony when he was just eight years old. His last symphony, Symphony No. 41 in C major (“Jupiter”), was completed just weeks before his death in 1791. In between, he wrote a total of 40 symphonies. Interestingly, Mozart did not write symphonies for public performance until he was in his twenties. His early symphonies were written for private concerts at the court of Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo of Salzburg. It was not until Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781 that he began writing symphonies for public concerts. Mozart’s symphonies are divided into three main periods: early, middle, and late. The early symphonies (Nos. 1-10) are mostly in the style of Johann Christian Bach and other contemporary composers. They are shorter in length and not as complex as Mozart’s later works. The middle symphonies (Nos. 11-20) show the influence of Joseph Haydn, with whom Mozart had a close working relationship. These symphonies are more innovative in form and harmony, and are longer than the early symphonies. The late symphonies (Nos. 21-41) are the most progressive and mature of Mozart’s works. They are characterized by bolder harmonic progressions, more complex textures, and larger orchestrations. The last three symphonies (Nos. 39-41) are particularly noteworthy, as they are among the greatest works of the Classical era. Mozart’s symphonies continue to be popular with audiences and performers alike. They are regularly performed and recorded by orchestras all over the world. And new generations of music lovers are discovering the joys of Mozart’s symphonies every day.