14th Symphony (Mozart)

The Symphony in A major Köchelverzeichnis 114 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Salzburg in 1771. According to the Old Mozart Edition, the symphony is number 14.

General

Painting by Mozart by Saverio dalla Rosa, January 1770

Compared to most of Mozart's earlier symphonies, the works Köchelverzeichnis (KV) 110 (composed in Salzburg before the second trip to Italy), KV 112 (composed in Milan) and KV 114 (composed in Salzburg after the second trip to Italy), which have certainly come down to us in 1771, stand out ) is characterized by the fact that it is a "full-blown" concert symphonies with a minuet and repetitions of the main parts in the corner movements (cf. KV 110).

The autograph of the symphony KV 114 is dated December 30, 1771. Shortly before, on the day after her return from Italy (December 16, 1771), the Archbishop of Salzburg, Sigismund von Schrattenbach, had died, who had supported Mozart's “child prodigy”. It is possible that Mozart wanted to put down a "visiting card" with KV 114 - also in view of the impending election of the successor to the deceased archbishop. The work was probably relatively popular with contemporaries, as there are several German and Bohemian copies. Bernhard Paumgartner (1957) speaks of a “delicate, sometimes dreamy” symphony. Several other authors also emphasize the importance of the symphony, e.g. B. the “inventiveness” in the opening movement.

To the music

Instrumentation: two flutes , two oboes (only in the second movement), two horns in A, 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. 20 minutes.

With the terms of the sonata form used here, it should be noted that this scheme was designed in the first half of the 19th century (see there) and can therefore only be transferred to the Symphony KV 114 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 moderato

A major, 2/2 time (alla breve), 139 measures

The movement begins with a song-like melody: in the antecedent only performed piano by the two violins, then repeated in the forte by the entire orchestra in the final. The eight-stroke on which the theme is based is again divided into two distinct halves: The first four-stroke is characterized by descending intervals (fourths and fifths), which are then "answered" in the second four-stroke by ascending intervals (fifth and octave). As an “appendix” to the theme, the winds play a short fanfare-like solo (bars 16/17). The transition to the second theme (bars 18–36) begins with tremolo and broken chords in A major, then takes up the motifs from the first theme with characteristic octave jumps upwards: from bar 22 as a one-bar unit first in the violins, from bar 26 then two bars in the bass, here rhythmically supported by the horns.

The second theme (bars 36–46), a “sweeping thought of beguiling elegance” in the dominant E major, is only introduced by the strings in piano with an imitative beginning (1st violin - 2nd violin - viola). The second half of the theme is characterized by the dialogue of the violins with short, offset phrases, which leads to an F sharp major seventh chord with fermata via tone repetition on E. The F sharp major has a dominant effect on the B major, with which the final group (bar 47 ff.) Begins in a figure with large interval jumps. After two ascending “attempts” by the 1st violin and the final turn with a trill, the exposition ends in measure 59.

In the implementation of a new, two-bar third motif, something to the "Appendix" from the first issue (cycle 16/17) is remembered performed in piano imitation by the instruments (flutes, viola, horn). The subsequent syncope passage in the forte then leads back to the recapitulation . This (bar 80 ff.) Is structured like the exposition. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Second movement: Andante

D major, 3/4 time, 62 bars, oboes instead of flutes, without horns

The first theme of the vocal movement with "elegiac charm" is played in the antecedent - similar to the Allegro - only by the violins in piano, with the fourth downwards being conspicuous at the beginning. In the aftermath, the winds give characteristic "warm" splashes of color with hold in thirds. Using a trill phrase, Mozart changes to the dominant A major, where two further motifs (with prelude and echo: “second theme”; with tone repetition: “final group”) are presented.

The development is characterized by its sweeping melody line in a steady, flowing and sometimes imitating eighth note movement, initially accompanied by the fourth of the first theme. The “recapitulation” (bars 47 ff.) Is shortened compared to the exposition: the first theme is not repeated and goes straight to the opening motif (“second theme”). Both main parts of the sentence are repeated.

Third movement: Menuetto

A major, 3/4 time, 26 + 24 bars (second version)

The autograph of the symphony contains two minuets: the first with oboes has been crossed out - "possibly because of the motif proximity to the beginning of the andante" and replaced by a new, somewhat longer and "harmonious and compositionally technically" demanding one with flutes instead of oboes.

The minuet of the second version begins with a strong, ascending melody in the forte. At the beginning of the second part only the violins and the viola play, with the 2nd violin imitating the 1st violin part.

The “imaginative” trio (retained in both minuet versions) is in A minor and is only performed by the strings in the piano. The voice-leading 1st violin plays a melody with a "plaintive" tone repetition, accompanied by continuous triplets of the 2nd violin and supporting quarters in viola / bass. Neal Zaslaw (1989) sees ironic features in this in the direction of church music.

Fourth movement: Molto allegro

A major, 2/4 time, 174 bars

The lively, lively movement opens with three chord strikes in the forte, followed by a trill phrase from the violins in the piano. This four-bar phrase is repeated, with the trill phrase shifted a third up (first theme, bars 1–8; similar beginning of the movement in the finale of the symphony KV 124, which was composed shortly afterwards ). The following section contains a repeated cadenza-like sequence of chords (tonic A major - subdominant D major - dominant E major - A major) with tremolo and virtuoso semiquavers upwards. There may be an allusion in this chord sequence to a so-called "Bergamasca" (a dance or song in which the melody is placed over a continuous sequence of these four chords). The second theme (bar 28 ff., E major, piano), with its swaying character, is structured periodically, with the four-bar first and six-bar trailer each being repeated. It is clearly longer than the first theme, which is more motif-like. The final group (bars 48 ff.) Changes back to the forte and introduces two smaller motifs (the second in the flutes - violins dialogue), which are separated by a tremolo insert. The exposition ends in measure 73.

As in the Allegro, the development (bars 74-101) contains new material: First a theme with a four-bar “question” and three-bar “answer” as well as a two-bar wind appendix, which is performed in E major and A major, followed by a four-bar motif large interval jumps and syncope accompaniment. The recapitulation (bars 102 ff.) Is structured similarly to the exposition with slight changes e.g. B. in the second topic. The exposition, development and recapitulation are repeated.

Individual references, comments

1. ^ Wolfgang Gersthofer: Symphonies KV 16-134. In: Joachim Brügge, Claudia Maria Knispel (Ed.): The Mozart Handbook, Volume 1: Mozart's orchestral works and concerts. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2007, ISBN 3-8900-7461-8 , pp. 24-25.
2. ↑ Küster (Konrad Küster: Mozart's early symphonies. Text contribution to the recording of the Mozart symphonies with the English Concert and Trevor Pinnock; Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg 1995) writes on this: “It may be that Schrattenbach's death is also a personal shock for the Mozarts was because they sensed the consequences this could have for them and the continuation of Mozart's international career; The A major symphony KV 114 is thus a document of how absurd it is to want to construct an inner connection between biographical "shocks" and Mozart's compositions at the same time. "
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Volker Scherliess : The symphonies. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6 , p. 280
4. ^ Bernhard Paumgartner: Mozart. Atlantis-Verlag, Zurich and Freiburg i. Br. 1957, p. 155
5. ↑ Review in Zaslaw (1989)
6. ↑ In contemporary orchestras, the flute / oboe were often played by the same person who then simply swapped instruments
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Neal Zaslaw: Mozart's Symphonies. Context, performance practice, reception. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1989
8. ↑ Mozart uses similar beginnings with a piano beginning a little later in the symphonies KV 130 and KV 134 , as well as in the third A major symphony KV 201
9. ↑ The topic originally had a slightly different shape, see the preface to the NMA score volume under web links
10. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Hildesheimer: Mozart . Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin 1988 (first edition from 1977), 536 pp.
11. ↑ ^{a b c} The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not kept in some recordings.
12. ↑ Depending on the point of view, a form other than that of the sonata is also conceivable for the movement, e.g. B. three-part song form after Scherliess (2005)
13. ^ Arnold Werner-Jensen: Reclam's music guide. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Volume 1: Instrumental Music. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1989, p. 171.
14. ↑ Hildesheimer (1977) writes about the trio: "... and a trio in A minor, like a fleeting questioning of all later interpretations of this key by Mozart."

Web links, notes

• 14th Symphony (Mozart) : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia in la, K. 114. PR 629, Ricordi-Verlag, Milan 1955 (pocket score).

See also

• List of symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart