13th Symphony (Mozart)

The Symphony in F major Köchelverzeichnis 112 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Milan in 1771. According to the Old Mozart Edition, the symphony has the number 13.

General

Painting by Mozart by Saverio dalla Rosa, January 1770

The autograph of this symphony, which was written during the second trip to Italy, is entitled “Sinfonia del Sigre Cacaliere Wolfgango Amadeo Mozart á Milano 2 di Novemb. 1771 ” , whereby Wolfgang wrote only the first word and Leopold Mozart the rest. The first performance possibly took place on November 22 or 23, 1771 in the house of AM Mayr, administrator of the royal private casket of Archduke Ferdinand.

To the music

Instrumentation: two oboes , two horns in F, two violins , viola , cello , double bass . In contemporary orchestras it was also customary, even without separate listing bassoon and harpsichord (if available in the orchestra) to reinforce the bass part or as a basso use -instrument.

Performance time : approx. 15 minutes.

Hermann Abert writes about the symphony: “These German influences also held up on the second Italian trip, which was not at all productive in terms of symphonic work. The F major symphony (K. V. 112) (…) makes some concessions to the Italian taste in terms of subject matter and orchestration, but in no way blurs the German basics. " And in a footnote Abert adds: " Against WSF, they have a strong relapse here into Italian, one has to point out the frequent change of mood, the expressive final section and the passionate execution of the first movement, the Stamitzian Andante and the partly German, partly Mozartian features of the minuet (trio!) and the final rondos with its two side clauses. "

Neal Zaslaw praises: The symphony “is permeated with a spirit of trust and solid craftsmanship - from the wonderfully proportioned sonata form of the 1st movement to the careful polyphony of the andante, which is only played by the strings, to the energetic rondo finale, a giga perhaps resulted from the successful performance of Ascanio a month earlier. "

With the terms used here based on the sonata form , it must be taken into account that this scheme was designed in the first half of the 19th century (see there) and can therefore only be transferred to the Köchel Directory (KV) 112 symphony with restrictions. - The description and structure of the sentences given here is to be understood as a suggestion. Depending on the point of view, other delimitations and interpretations are also possible.

First movement: Allegro

F major, 3/4 time, 124 bars, originally “Molto Allegro”, but the “Molto” erased

The movement opens as a sequence of three motifs: in unison descending triads in the forte of the whole orchestra ( tutti ), piano floksel of the violins and viola, triad motif again played in the forte of the tutti. Motifs 2 and 3 are repeated. The section from bar 10 starts with the theme and then goes on to virtuoso sixteenth-note runs, trills and tremolo . It ends with two quarter beats on the double dominant G major. The second theme (bars 24–31) in the dominant C major is based on a two-bar question-and-answer motif of oboe and viola, in which another two-bar motif of violins / viola is built in as a “string concertino” (similar to the first theme ). Both motifs are structured in thirds .

From bar 32, tremolo follows again, with the harmonic structure partially reduced (e.g. bar 34: tremolo only for the 1st violin on G); in addition, from bar 36, there is another motif with a pendulum movement in dotted rhythm. The final group from bar 43 to the end of the exposition in bar 54 is clearly delimited with the somewhat chromatic motif of the violins. The exposition ends with four bars of tremolo and chord melodies.

The second part of the movement (“development”, bars 55–70) begins with two bars of tremolo that circles around the A note. From bar 57, the motif of the final group is then moved as a variant through the instruments (1st violin, 2nd violin, viola). Via another tremolo passage, Mozart leads back to the recapitulation (bars 71 ff.), Which is structured like the exposition. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante

B flat major, 2/4 time, 64 bars, only strings

The movement begins as a ticking figure of the 1st violin, accompanied by clockwork-like, even, broken chord figures in staccato of the 2nd violin and viola and priming single notes of the cello and double bass. At the end of the four-bar first theme, both violins play a stepped figure downwards.

The second theme (bars 10 ff.) Is structured differently: It is based on a two-bar motif, with the figure of the second bar appearing in dialogue between the 1st violin on the one hand and the 2nd violin and the viola on the other. Bars 14–17 take up the head of the first theme again before the final group (bars 18 ff.), The elements of which can be derived from the other motifs, ends the exposition.

In the developmental part (bars 26–37) the motif from the first theme appears in altered harmony, interrupted by a downward chromatic movement. The recapitulation (bars 38 ff.) Is structured in a similar way to the exposition. This as well as the development and recapitulation are repeated.

Third movement: Menuetto

F major, 3/4 time, with trio 32 bars (the repetition part of the minuet is written out in the score, so a total of 50 bars)

Characteristic elements of the powerful melody of the minuet are the triple tone repetition and the downward triplet . In the second part the triplets even dominate for two bars. The trio for strings is in C major and is kept in piano throughout. The first part is relatively "tight" with many arches. The second part begins with a new, "loose" motif on the C major triad in staccato; the initial motif only reappears at the end between the 1st and 2nd violin.

Neal Zaslaw points out that the viola in the minuet does not have its own voice as in other symphony menus by Mozart, but rather doubles the bass part. Since Mozart's dance menu (i.e., minuets not planned for a symphony) normally does not use a viola, this peculiarity suggests that the minuet for KV 112 was taken from another work.

The trio has its own viola part and is therefore likely to have been composed for this symphony. Volker Scherliess points out that the minuet part is written in Leopold's and only the trio in Wolfgang's handwriting. According to this, Wolfgang could have composed the minuet for a different purpose, while Leopold copied it for this symphony; or it is a minuet by Leopold, for which Wolfgang composed a trio.

The even structure of the movement with 8 + 8 bars each in the minuet and in the trio is also remarkable.

Fourth movement: Molto allegro

F major, 3/8 time, 123 bars

The movement, structured as a rondo , consists of the refrain and two couplets . The theme of the chorus is structured periodically with eight bars of the first and last bars. These in turn consist of two four-measures (phrases): ascending F major triad melody (same opening in the first movement) and an ascending tremolo-like figure.

The first couplet (bars 17–40) initially consists of an “up and down” of the two violins in countermovement, followed by a tremolo passage with a falling melody line that is varied (with chromaticism and octave jumps) repeated. The second couplet (bars 57–96) with its dance melody and characteristic suggestions is the only section in minor (D minor) and is structured in two repeated passages.

After the last iteration of the chorus, the movement ends with a coda with chord melodies and tremolo.

Individual references, comments

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Neal Zaslaw: Symphony in F major, KV 112 (No. 13). Text contribution to: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Symphonies Vol. VII , German translation by Decca 1988. Recording by the Academy of Ancient Music ; Concertmaster Jaap Schröder, continuo: Christopher Hogwood. Decca Record, London 1988.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hermann Abert: WA Mozart. Revised and expanded edition of Otto Jahn's Mozart. First part 1756-1782. 7th expanded edition (1st edition from 1919), VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1955, p. 286
3. ↑ Abert refers here to the time before the second trip to Italy
4. ↑ Meant is the Mozart book by Theodore de Wyzewa and de Georges Saint-Fox from 1912
5. ↑ The fourth movement is also opened.
6. ↑ ^{a b} The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
7. ↑ Volker Scherliess : The symphonies. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6

Notes, web links

13th Symphony (Mozart) : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia in Fa, K. 112. PR 786, Ricordi-Verlag, Milan 1955 (pocket score).

See also

• List of symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart