21st Symphony (Mozart)

The Symphony in A major Köchelverzeichnis 134 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in August 1772 in Salzburg. According to the Old Mozart Edition, the symphony bears the number 21.

General

Painting by Mozart by Saverio dalla Rosa, January 1770

For general information on the Salzburg symphonies ( KV 128 , KV 129 , KV 130 , KV 132 , KV 133 , KV 134) see KV 130.

The Symphony KV 134 was written in May 1772 and was probably intended for a client from Milan. Alfred Einstein (1953) speaks of “a decidedly“ flirtatious ”symphony as a whole” , in which “there is also a new type of cantability and at the same time a finer sense of imitation” . Hermann Abert (1955) thinks about KV 130 and KV 134 that Mozart reached a height here "which he only once again climbed in the following period" and highlights the "romantic train, which is now in deep enthusiasm, now in bizarre mood, soon expressed in sky-storming passion “ as a connecting element of the sentences.

Every movement except the minuet has a coda ; flutes are used instead of the usual oboes, and the secondary parts are generally worked out in relatively detail (e.g. 2nd violin in the first movement).

To the music

Instrumentation: two flutes , two horns in A, two violins , viola , cello , double bass (no oboes ). 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. 18 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 134 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

A major, 3/4 time, 173 bars

The first theme consists of broken chord motifs and leads in the 1st violin (main part), underlaid by chords from the wind instruments and tremolo from the remaining strings. After the first eight bars in the forte, there is a repetition in the piano up to bar 16, but now without wind instruments and an octave lower. This is followed by a forte section, which takes up the broken triads with dotted rhythm, but now in the 2nd violin and in the cello / double bass, while the 1st violin with tremolo and the viola with runs and chords have an accompanying function.

The second theme (dominant in E major, piano) has a singing character and a periodic structure. Again the 1st violin leads the part, while the other instruments are subordinate. From bar 42 there is a short transition consisting of motifs from the second topic, until the final group begins in bar 50. This again contains the triad material from the first topic, e.g. T. in unison , z. T. in countermovement. From bars 58 to 61 - in contrast to the previous and subsequent full orchestral performance - only the two violins play on the piano. The exposition ends as an “open” seventh chord on E and is repeated.

It follows the implementation in which the chord motif is led from the first theme by the strings. The development ends with a passage in unison and with chromatic elements on the dominant E, in which the recapitulation begins - but not with the first theme as usual, but with the first part of the second theme. From bar 112 there is another section in which - similar to the development section - the chord motif of the first theme is processed. This section also ends on the dominant E, and now (from bar 122) the second part of the second theme follows, first with the strings in A minor and in the piano, then in the tonic in A major in the forte of the whole orchestra. The final group is designed similarly to the exposition. The movement ends (development and recapitulation are not repeated) from bars 156-173 with a coda, the main part of which is a crescendo from piano to fortissimo.

In the symphony KV 133 the recapitulation also begins with the second theme.

Second movement: Andante

D major, 2/4 time, 73 bars

The movement is characterized by constant, even movement through thirty-second notes, which creates a slightly mumbling character or a “carpet-like” accompaniment in the secondary voices.

The 1st violin begins with its melodic theme, characterized by arcs and leads (bars 1–10). The antecedent is piano, the subsequent forte. The 2nd violin acts as an accompaniment, e.g. Sometimes also the viola with broken triads in staccato or legato , constantly running as thirty-second notes , the bass with slowly stepping octave jumps and the wind instruments with chords.

The second theme (bars 10-18) follows without any major transition in the dominant key of A major. The basis is a motif made up of four thirty-second notes, which plays around a note; the previously accompanying thirty-second movement is thus "upgraded". This motif is initially only in the 1st and then in the 2nd violin, then a crescendo follows, where the viola and flutes also take over the motif. After the movement has subsided briefly, in bar 19, the final group begins with a characteristic bass movement in octaves, tone repetition and alternation between forte and piano. The exposition ends on the dominant as a seventh chord on A and is repeated.

The basic key of the following transition section is initially D (bars 25–31), it is due to the constant tremolo of the 2nd violin, the sustained octave of the horns on A (acts like an organ point ) and the short motif with trills in the 1st violin and shaped the flutes. The forte is followed by a cadenza with all strings in the tremolo, which ends in F sharp minor, followed by a fanfare-like section, which is the return to the recapitulation. This is structured similar to the exposure, but is not repeated. Mozart ends the movement as a three-bar, cadenced coda.

“(...) one of those charming midnight blue“ garden and fountain pieces ”by Mozart: the gentle melody of the primary violins over the busy murmuring of the second violins, an exciting gust of wind, a minor turn, discreet horn tones, accompanying the return, all in the narrowest possible framework, from a precise“ coda "Unsentimental, but smiling and released."

Third movement: Menuetto

A major, 3/4 time, 30 bars (minuet); 28 bars (trio)

The minuet, which is mainly held in the forte, is characterized by trills and triplets played together or offset by the two violins .

The first part of the trio in D major consists of a swaying, sequenced string motif in the piano. The second part is followed by a strongly contrasting passage in the forte: the horns “ask” four times with three quarter beats on A and are each “answered” with three quarter beats of the violins (ddA); accompanied by the eighth tremolo of the viola on A.

Fourth movement: Allegro

A major, 2/2 time (Alla breve), 141 measures

The movement begins with the melodic, upbeat first theme (bars 1–10), which is played piano only by the violins. The second beat is emphasized as ( syncope ). Then the whole orchestra begins with a motif of five tone repetitions (“five-tone motif”) in the forte, which is repeated echo-like on the piano, followed by a passage with a trill motif.

The second, again melodic and vocal theme in the dominant key of E major contains a lead on the first beat, so that the syncope here produces a different effect than in the first theme. The following section deals with the first theme, which appears in the bass as well as the violins. The exposure is repeated.

The middle section begins as an unexpected general pause. Then the timbre changes abruptly: starting with C sharp minor, it goes in the forte of the whole orchestra and with characteristic jumps in the bass over F sharp major and D major and finally to E major. The recapitulation begins in bar 74 with the first theme in the tonic A major and is structured similar to the exposition. After repeating the development and recapitulation, the movement ends as a coda (bars 131–141), which consists of A major chord progressions with the “five-tone motif”.

Individual references, comments

1. ↑ Volker Scherliess : The symphonies. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6 , pp. 277-278
2. ↑ Alfred Einstein: Mozart - His character, his work. Pan-Verlag, Zurich / Stuttgart 1953, 553 pp.
3. ^ Hermann Abert: WA Mozart. Revised and expanded edition of Otto Jahn's Mozart. First part 1756-1782. 7th expanded edition, VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1955, 848 pp.
4. ^ Neal Zaslaw: Mozart's Symphonies. Context, performance practice, reception. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1989, 617 pp.
5. ↑ Fischer (1956) thinks, however, that a harpsichord is not necessary because of the way the wind instruments are used and the detailed work through of the secondary voices: "The sparse harmonic empty passages appear as intended and do not require any chord filling."
6. ^ Bernhard Paumgartner: Mozart. Atlantis-Verlag, Zurich and Freiburg i. Br. 1957, p. 162
7. ↑ The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not observed in some recordings.

See also

• List of symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Web links, notes

• Symphony in A K. 134 : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in A, KV 134.Bärenreiter pocket score volume 36.Bärenreiter, Kassel 1956.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sinfonia in la, K. 134 PR 640, Ricordi-Verlag, Milan 1955 (pocket score).