40th Symphony (Mozart)

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The Symphony in G minor , K. 550, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in July 1788 at Vienna. According to the old Mozart edition, the symphony , its penultimate, bears the number 40 and is one of the most popular and most frequently performed orchestral works by the composer today .

General

Mozart in 1789, silver pen drawing by Doris Stock

Regarding the genesis and the reason for the composition, cf. Introduction to the 39th Symphony (KV 543). Mozart probably completed the symphony KV 550 on July 25, 1788, since that was the day on which he added its incipit to his catalog raisonné. It was performed while Mozart was still alive: In a letter dated July 19, 1802 to the Leipzig publisher Ambrosius Kühnel , the Prague musician Johann Wenzel reported on the performance of the symphony in the presence of Mozart by Baron Gottfried van Swieten , which was so bad that the Composer preferred to leave the room. In the subsequent addition of two clarinets (commonly: "second version" compared to the "first version" without them) several authors see a reference to a concert that took place on April 16 and 17, 1791 as part of the Tonkünstler Society under the direction of Antonio Salieri took place in Vienna and in which the clarinetists Johann and Anton Stadler, who were friends with Mozart , were involved; first of all, "A great symphony from the invention of Mr. Mozart" was played.

Sometimes KV 550 is referred to as the "Great G minor symphony", the symphony KV 183 , which is also in G minor, as the "Small G minor symphony". Georges Beck (1952) points out several similarities (see KV 183); while Ronald Woodham (1983) sums up: "These parallels and also the expressiveness of the two symphonies are noteworthy, but the differences are far more obvious than the similarities ..."

To the music

Instrumentation: one flute , two oboes , two clarinets (added in the “second version”), two bassoons , two horns : one in G, one in B; two violins , viola , cello , double bass . In contemporary orchestras, a harpsichord (if available in the orchestra) was probably also used as a figured bass instrument.

Playing time : approx. 25–35 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 550 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: Molto Allegro (originally Allegro assai)

G minor, 2/2 time (alla breve), 299 measures

Overview of the subjects of the sentences
First movement, Tsumugi Orchestra, conducted by Takashi Inoue

The movement begins as a carpet-like eighth note accompaniment of the divided violas with grounding bass quarters, above which on the fourth beat of the first bar the upbeat melody in the octaved parallel violins begins. The melody is characterized by the tied down semitone step with repetition of the target note in the rhythm of two eighths - a quarter (this figure is initially repeated three times) and the sixth up. The sigh motif of the tied semitone step down with the tone repetition is important for the further structure of the sentence.

The first theme consists of a sequence of two-measure pairs that are related to each other like a question and answer. However, there is no self-contained melody, but a “structural context of heterogeneous structures”. There is an interruption from bars 14–20 with a forte tutti and an emphasis on holding in D major. The theme ends in bar 27 and modulates at its end to the tonic parallel in B flat major. The length of the prelude is discussed differently: Does the theme begin with the first beat in measure 2 or only in measure 3 with the sixth up (i.e. the first two measures are upbeat)? In the recapitulation (bars 164–166 ff.) The repeated semitone step figure appears upbeat, as the tonic in the bass and the accompaniment of the violins only start at the beginning of the sixth, while the accompaniment occurs at the beginning of the movement before the semitone step figure. This ambiguity contributes to the “floating character” of the sentence. The headline shows similarities with Cherobino's aria "Non so piu cosa son cosa faccio" from Figaro .

The following forte passage (from bar 28) begins throughout the orchestra with a motif consisting of an ascending triad figure and a tremolo-like bass in descending, broken thirds. Running figures, which act as an accentuated lead (alternation of C and Db), lead on to the second theme, which begins in measure 43 after a general pause. The second theme (bars 44–57, parallel tonic in B flat major) with its eight-bar, strongly chromatic melody for strings (and winds) contrasts with the previous event through its calm character. It is repeated (bars 52 ff.), But now with reversed roles between winds and strings.

The following section (bars 58-72) brings a four-fold repeated lead figure on E-flat ( subdominant of B) and a tremolo with crescendo . The final group (bars 72 ff.) Takes up the half-step motif from the first theme and leads it through the instruments. From bar 77, a four-bar closed unit emerges from the fragments. The section from bar 72 is repeated with the roles of bass and violins reversed. The exposition ends after runs in unison and chord melodies (alternation between B and F major) in bar 100 as an “open” dominant seventh chord and is repeated.

In the implementation (clock 101 to 165), the material is processed by the first topic. It begins as a continuation of the end of the exposition as a diminished chord, which heralds a breakaway from the previous harmonic framework. Mozart modulates over A major with the first theme after F sharp minor (bar 105 f.) And then further downwards chromatically. In bar 114, B major is reached, from here it goes down in the circle of fifths via E minor, A minor, D minor, G minor, C major, F major, B major, C minor and G minor to A major. The main motif appears in a dialogue between the violins and the other strings with bassoon, while the other group plays a hammering counterpoint in staccato eighths. From bar 126 the violins take over the melody and spin it down sequentially . The movement then ends with a change from D minor and A major (bar 134 ff.), But the main idea remains fragmentary (bar 138 ff .: 1st violin, flute and clarinet) and increases to a dramatic forte ( Bar 152 ff.), Which leads over to the recapitulation via a chromatic downward wind passage.

This begins in measure 165 or 166 (see above), depending on the evaluation of the prelude. It differs from exposure u. a. by lengthening the transition section by modulating the motif with the ascending triad like a performance and moving between the instruments. A coda (bars 286 ff.) With the main motif ends the movement.

Second movement: Andante

E flat major , 6/8 time, 123 bars

Second movement, Tsumugi Orchestra, conducted by Takashi Inoue

As in the Molto Allegro, the first theme has a relatively “open” form. It consists of several motifs, of which an upbeat figure with tone repetition (motif 1) makes the beginning (bars 1–3). First on the viola, the 2nd and then the 1st violin join in, offset by bars, with the opening interval expanding from the fourth to the fifth to the sixth . In measure 4 the motif ends with a closing phrase. The starting notes of the tone repetition are f and a flat. With the g also played in measure 4, the same figure is present as at the beginning of the fourth movement of the symphony KV 551 , which some authors consider, along with other factors, as a possible indication of a togetherness (in the sense of of a cycle) of Mozart's last three symphonies. Peter Gülke (2007) also sees this connection for the bass in bars 20-23, where Mozart "emphatically hammered out the four-tone motif (es-f-a-flat-g, now bc-es-d), which was imitatively discreetly layered at the beginning."

This motif 1 is underlaid in bar 3 by a chromatic bass passage (motif 2, "rotating motif"). After another motif with accentuated lead in measure 5/6 (motif 3), underlaid by the tone repeater of the horns, in measure 7 there is a figure of sigh (thirty-second note + stressed lead, motif 4), which ends the antecedent as a chromatically falling sixteenth line. The subsequent clause is structured in a similar way to the first clause, but with different instrumentation and ascending melody line in the 1st violin (motif 5). From bar 16, the thirty-second phrase from motif 4 becomes a dance-like, echo-like, invigorating figure (motif 6), over which a singing melody (motif 7) in the woodwind joins in measure 17/18. The section of the first theme ends in bar 19 in E-flat.

The following section begins as an energetic phrase with an octave jump on the dominant in B flat major and takes up the tone repetition of motif 1 and the thirty-second phrase of motif 6. From bar 28, Mozart changes with motif 1 (with a prelude) under the phrase of motif 6 (now only in downward movement and in the woodwinds) via D flat major, A flat major, E flat minor and B flat minor to the ambiguous, fallacy-like chord It is in measure 33. Here the whole orchestra begins forte and then changes from G flat and B flat major to F major.

The motif from measure 37 (motif 8, B flat major) can be interpreted as a second theme in the sense of the sonata form, depending on the point of view, but this "theme" does not have a closed, but an open, non-periodic structure and is overall more like a motif, whereby the threefold repetition of the sixth downwards is particularly noticeable. It is also noteworthy that the bass only appears in the varied repetition from bar 41.

A chord based on E flat minor is followed by a "chordally unstable initial structure that triggers a series of dramatically progressive, harmonious and contrapuntal anchored passage sounds" . The final group (from bar 48) takes up motif 1 as a variant and ends the exposition with a closing turn. The exposure is repeated.

The development begins with the tone repetition on C flat in string unison known from Motif 1, with the upbeat B forming a characteristic semitone step to C flat. In measure 55 the C-flat first falls back to B, but with the second attempt from measure 56, a wide-stretched modulation section begins with the same C-flat with the tone repetition of motive 1 and the thirty-second phrase of motive 6. Violins / viola as well as the wind instruments play both motifs in dialogue. From bar 64, G major stabilizes, and the movement of motif 5, which has so far only been downward, is absorbed by upward movements.

In measure 69 the first theme begins as a sham reprise in C major (the tonic for G major), but then breaks off again and leads to the recapitulation, which is reached in measure 74, via chromatic turns of the “twisting motif” (motif 2) and starts with the first theme in E flat major. The afterthought contains the “twist motif” and modulates to C major, which has a dominant effect on the passage beginning in F minor, analogous to bar 20. The rotating motif and the formulation of bars 26/27 are also integrated into this passage (the latter now appears in bars 97/98). The rest of the recapitulation is structured in the same way as the exposition. Development and recapitulation are repeated.

Neal Zaslaw (1989) points out that in the oratorio Die Jahreszeiten Joseph Haydn quotes the beginning of the movement in aria no. 38 "Behold here, bitterness".

“An Arcadian world is opening up. The movement is filled with movement in every beat, but free from any hectic rush - everything breathes calmly. The line-up is not reduced, but always remains transparent and lets the groups of instruments sound sometimes chorus, sometimes in solo line play. "

“It is the enthusiastic, sensitive E flat major that is often encountered in Siciliano arias in andante tempo and in 6/8 time. The entire movement is therefore saturated with cantability, which only in the middle part [...] and in special places in the first part [...] leaves the tone of tenderly blossoming sensation and happy grace. "

Third movement: Menuetto. Allegretto

G minor, 3/4 time, with trio 84 bars

Third movement, Tsumugi Orchestra, conducted by Takashi Inoue

The minuet is noticeable because of its little dance character and the polyphonic design. The beginning can be interpreted as a two-bar or three-bar structure, depending on the point of view , due to the hemiotic structure. This irritating effect is at the beginning of the second part by the introduction of z. Partly dissonant opposing voices in the violins and bassoon intensified; the polyphonic character is continued from bars 28–34 by staggering the eighth-note motif from the main idea. The main part ends after a chromatically falling figure in the piano (previously continuous forte) in the clarinets and bassoons under the main motif in the flute.

The trio in G major, on the other hand, is more homophonic and is determined by a calm quarter movement. Woodwinds (without clarinets), strings and horns face each other "like choirs in a melodious alternating song."

Neal Zaslaw (1989) points out that the minuet is similar to that of Franz Schubert's 5th symphony and states that Schubert made a copy of the minuet.

Fourth movement: Allegro assai

G minor, 2/2 time (alla breve), 308 measures

Fourth movement, Tsumugi Orchestra, conducted by Takashi Inoue

The first theme begins as an ascending broken triad (“ Mannheimer rocket ”) in the piano, followed by a pendulum motif of eighths in the forte. This four-bar antecedent with a dominant ending is followed by the similarly structured subsequent clause with a tonic closure . After the repetition of this eight-bar period , a second eight -bar period follows, which consists of a rhythmically distinctive motif with tone repetition and trills, as well as the ending of the first period. This second eight-stroke is also repeated and then seamlessly merges into the transition section from stroke 32. The upbeats and the rhythmic structure create a slightly dancing effect.

The type of the ascending triad as the (main) motif was used in numerous works, for example also in the first movement of Mozart's symphony KV 183. The beginning z. B. from Beethoven's first piano sonata in F minor op. 2 No. 1 or the beginning of the scherzo from the 5th symphony in C minor. The latter agreement sparked a controversy about the comparability of the musical idea. Beethoven had copied the string parts of a passage from the development of KV 550 (bars 146–174) in a sketchbook for the Scherzo. Stefan Kunze therefore believes that Beethoven was not primarily concerned with the melodic idea, but with Mozart's execution technique (see below).

The section up to the second theme is remarkable for its unusual length (bars 32–70). It is based on the pendulum motif, which sometimes becomes independent into longer, virtuoso eighth-ovals, and to which a knocking motif of quarters is added from bars 49–55. The harmony initially remains in the range of G minor and does not turn towards B major until bar 46.

As expected, the second theme (from bar 71) is in the parallel key of B flat major and contrasts with the first theme through piano and soft timbre. It has eight bars, is somewhat chromatic and is repeated twice in different ways. After a passage with a chromatically falling line and sustained wind chords, the final section follows, which is again based on the pendulum motif and tremolo-like repetitions of notes. The exposition ends in measure 124 and is repeated.

Start of implementation

While the pendulum motif played the main role in the exposition, in the development it is the broken ascending chord from the beginning of the first theme (ascent motif), which is initially heard in forte unison. Instead of the actually following pendulum motif, however, there are only unison quarters separated by pauses. Here Mozart uses all notes of the chromatic scale except for the root g. In the following modulation passage, the ascent motif occurs every two bars between the winds and violins. Thereby u. a. A major, D minor, D, G and C major and F minor (bar 147) reached. From bar 150 an eighth run is attached to the motif, which, like a further eighth run (e.g. bar 158 in the bass ), proves to be a means of "contrapuntal interweaving" (narrowing from bar 153). From bar 161 onwards, the ascent motif appears again without a figure eight and runs through the stringed instruments offset by chords held by the wind instruments. These only take over the voice lead in bar 175 ff. Under the tremolating G sharp of the violins, dialogically with the string basses. In measure 187, C sharp minor is reached as a fallacy harmony, followed by three quarter beats of a “meaningful silence” . The renewed approach with the ascent motif, beginning in C sharp major, then no longer dissolves, but breaks off after two stressed leads and a dissonant chord in a long general pause of a total of six quarter-beats.

From this silence the recapitulation (bars 208 ff.) Begins again with the first theme in the piano. It largely coincides with the exposition (also the second theme now in the tonic in G minor), but the final group is extended with the pendulum motif (deviation from measure 294).

Volker Scherliess (2005) points out that the character of the movement (threatening to comedic) depends largely on the style of play (fast or slow tempo).

reception

The symphony KV 550 is one of Mozart's most famous works. As early as 1800 it was highly valued by the public, which was also expressed in a large number of arrangements. To this day there is a large number of reviews and interpretations (overview in Zaslaw), whereby these turn out differently:

  • Robert Schumann speaks of "Greek floating grace".
  • Donald Francis Tovey sees similarities with the Italian opera buffa and Rossini's overture to the barber of Seville .
  • Hermann Abert describes the character in words such as tragedy, sadness, lament, suffering and despair.
  • Volker Scherliess (2005) sums up: "There are hardly any other work that has so many divergent judgments as there are about this symphony." This also applies to current reviews, e. B. Peter Gülke (2007) and Peter Revers (2007) on the one hand and Volker Scherliess (2005) on the other.
  • In the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung , a report on a concert on April 8, 1805 in Vienna, at which KV 550 was performed (and at which Mozart's then 13-year-old son Franz Xaver Wolfgang made his first public appearance as a pianist and composer) states: “The concert opened with the wonderful Mozart symphony from G minor, this immortal work of the great composer, which combines the greatest beauty with the highest grandeur, and yet never strays into the wild and adventurous. It is a colossal picture, but of the most beautiful proportions; a Jupiter the Phidias who inspires both awe and love. It's just a shame that the performance of this masterpiece did not meet its value. The violins and basses were too weakly cast, and the whole orchestra was not appropriate for the size of the theater. "
  • Excerpt from the review with Bernhard Paumgartner (1957): “Tragic pessimism exudes in all movements of this symphony […], right down to the last breath in the blazing fire of the finale. Even from the melancholy of the Andante shines the same flame, only muted to darker twilight, to milder suffering. […] But now the master opened up for her, over and above Joseph Haydn's late work, the gates of a bright future, on the threshold of which Beethoven and Schubert, as heralds of another time, but with a kindred spirit, took over the divine inheritance. "
  • Dietmar Holland (1987) speaks of "Mozart's unique musical discretion, yes, of his dismissive unity, which does not allow us to interpret the musical attitude of the G minor symphony as an expression of the composer's personal needs (as it still happens) . [...] It is aesthetically untenable to confuse one's biographical circumstances with the character of one's music. It is not subjective enough for that. What comes up musically, on the other hand, are the affects of restlessness, lamentation or despair as musical characters that stand entirely for themselves. Of course, as always with Mozart, it is immanent-dramatic, anthropomorphic musical figures who act like people on Mozart's opera stage. So it is hardly surprising that the first movement uses the type of aria agitata , as exemplified by Cherubino's aria Non sò più cosa son cosa faccio in Le Nozze di Figaro . "
  • In pop music , parts of the G minor symphony have been adapted and edited several times. In 1971 the first movement as a pop version of Waldo de los Ríos became a single hit in Great Britain and Germany.

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony G minor K 550. Ernst Eulenburg Ltd. No. 404, London / Main 1983, 66 pp. (Pocket score).

Web links, notes

Commons : 40th Symphony (Mozart)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Milada Jonášová: A performance of the G minor symphony KV 550 by Baron van Swieten in the presence of Mozart . In: Mozart Studien 20, Tutzing 2011, pp. 253–268.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Stephan Kunze: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in G minor KV 550 (= masterpieces of music - work monographs on music history. Volume 6). Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7705-2703-8 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Peter Revers: The symphony triad KV 543, KV 550 and KV 551 ("Jupiter"). In: Joachim Brügge, Claudia Maria Knispel (Ed.): The Mozart Handbook, Volume 1: Mozart's orchestral works and concerts. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2007, ISBN 3-89007-461-8 , pp. 98-148
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Volker Scherliess : The symphonies. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6
  5. ↑ Georges Beck: WA Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183 . Six-page supplement to the pocket score published by Heugel et Cie, P. H 193, Paris 1952.
  6. ↑ Ronald Woodham: Foreword to the pocket score edition of the Symphony in G minor KV 550 by WA Mozart. Edition Eulenburg, London / Main 1983
  7. ↑ a b c d Neal Zaslaw: Mozart's Symphonies. Context, performance practice, reception. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1989, 617 pp.
  8. ↑ Otto Jahn, Hermann Abert: W. A. ​​Mozart , Volume 2. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1921, p. 580 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ a b c Peter Gülke: Two or four, two or six, three or six? About the relationship between musical breath and coordination based on the second movements of the symphonies KV 543, 550 and 551. In: Joachim Brügge, Claudia Maria Knispel (ed.): Das Mozart-Handbuch, Volume 1: Mozart's orchestral works and concerts. Laaber-Verlag, Laaber 2007, ISBN 3-89007-461-8 , pp. 94-97.
  10. ↑ Related to G flat major: subdominant C flat major sixth chord with seventh, related to B flat major: E flat minor chord with diminished sixth (Kunze 1998)
  11. ↑ The repetitions of the parts of the sentence are not observed in some recordings.
  12. ↑ From measure 4
  13. ^ Hermann Abert: WA Mozart. Revised and expanded edition of Otto Jahn's Mozart. Second part 1783-1791. 7th expanded edition, VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1956, 736 pp.
  14. ^ Bernhard Paumgartner: Mozart. Atlantis-Verlag, Zurich and Freiburg i. Br. 1957, p. 155.
  15. ↑ Attila Csampai, Dietmar Holland: The concert guide, orchestral music from 1700 to the present , Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-8052-0450-7 , p. 164 f.