Symphony KV Anh. 223 (Mozart)
The Symphony in F major KV Appendix 223 (19a) was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in London in 1765.
General
In the early 1980s, the symphony KV Appendix 223 or KV 19a, which had previously been believed to be lost, was found in a set of orchestral parts in Leopold Mozart's handwriting. The existence of the work was known beforehand on the one hand because of the incipit of the first movement on an envelope that contained the autograph of the symphony KV 19 (along with the beginning of a symphony in C major, probably KV 19b, which has been lost to this day) . The incipit was also listed in a catalog from the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel .
The symphony was probably performed as the opening piece for one of the concerts on February 21 or May 13, 1765 in the Haymarket Theater as part of Mozart's trip to London (cf. KV 16 ). The first performance since the rediscovery took place on March 23, 1981 at the opening of the new building of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.
To the music
Instrumentation: two oboes , two horns in F, two violins , viola , cello , double bass . In contemporary orchestras it was also customary to use bassoon and harpsichord (if available in the orchestra) to reinforce the bass voice or as a continuo , even without separate notation . It is noteworthy that in this symphony Mozart wrote out the chords for the harpsichord throughout as figured bass, which he almost never did otherwise.
Performance time: approx. 12-14 minutes.
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 therefore this symphony can only be transferred with restrictions. Sentences 1 and 2 correspond even more to the two-part form, in which the second part of the sentence is viewed as a modified iteration of the first ("exposure"). - 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 assai
F major, 4/4 time, 93 bars
The movement opens with a radiant, broad melody in the 1st violin, which is given a broad, two-dimensional timbre through sustained wind chords and tremolo of the other strings. This “first theme” is eight bars with four bars of front and back endings , whereby the front end has a fanfare-like effect. The transition to the second theme (bars 9-18) consists of two motifs that appear offset in the strings. The first has a strong march-like character, the second a sloshing character. After chord strokes on the dominant C major and a caesura in the form of a quarter pause, the second theme begins in the piano (bars 19 ff.). It is structured according to the "question (piano) - answer (forte- tutti )" principle, is repeated and then turns into a passage with tremolo in the violins and broken chords in the bass. The final group (bar 31 ff.) Contains two motifs and ends the first part of the sentence ("Exposition") in bar 40 with chords on C.
The second part of the sentence begins with the first theme in the dominant C major. The antecedent here is extended to five bars, and instead of the subsequent clause there is a tremolo modulation passage that leads back to C major with dominant seventh chords via C minor, D major, G minor and F major. A new motif compared to the exposition follows in bar 51 in the 1st oboe (ascending) and is taken up from bar 54 in the violins (descending). It is preceded by a march-like tone repetition in dotted rhythm. The following imitation motif according to bar 9 ff. Is now in G minor, as is the subsequent “lyre motif”. In measure 67 there is a shift from G minor to F major. The further course of the sentence corresponds structurally to that of the exposure. Both parts of the sentence are repeated.
Wolfgang Gersthofer emphasizes the Allegro assai: "Perhaps the most convincing first movement in Mozart's first symphony group."
Second movement: Andante
B flat major, 2/4 time, 60 bars, without oboes
The movement is consistently held in the piano. The strings dominate, the horns accompany with sustained chords or short splashes of color. The “first theme” is based only on a simple figure with an upbeat thirty-second phrase and tone repetition, but also gets its distinctive timbre through the pizzicato in the viola, which accompanies broken chords similar to a mandolin and the separated, priming bass tones. After the repetition of the theme, the "second theme" follows immediately in the dominant key of F major (bar 9 ff.), Which also has a phrase-like character, but is characterized by the "mumbling" accompaniment of the 2nd violin and viola (continuous sixteenth notes) differs. In the final group (bar 20 ff.) With the same accompaniment, the 1st violin plays a simple, vocal legato downward movement in horn and bass on F above the organ point . The first part ends in measure 24 and is repeated.
The second part (bars 25 ff.) Begins with the first theme in the dominant F major, but the repetition is in G minor. From bar 33 there is a new, dragging motif, also in G minor, with a second step up and down, which occurs offset in the violins or viola / bass and is led down once (bars 37 ff.). In measure 40, the “recapitulation” begins with the first theme in the tonic in B flat major, which, apart from the omission of the repetition of the first theme, is structurally similar to the exposition. From the overall structure, the Andante is laid out similar to the first movement.
The special atmosphere of the movement is also emphasized by Neal Zaslaw: "Despite the simple structure and conventional themes, this movement develops a sophistication and panache that is astonishing for a composer in childhood."
Third movement: Presto
F major, 3/8 time, 104 bars
The sentence is structured as a rondo :
- Refrain or motif A: bars 1–8 with a fanfare-like beginning (prelude + broken F major - chord) and sixteenth notes - "answer", both with string unison. Neal Zaslaw is reminded of bagpipe music and suspects that Mozart wanted to flatter the English audience with it.
- First couplet bar 9–32 with two motifs (“B and C”) in the dominant C major: the first stepped-up, the second with a pendulum character;
- Refrain bars 33–48 with continuation of motif A to G minor;
- Second couplet, bars 49–64 as a variant of the first couplet: Motif B in G minor, from bar 57 shifted to F major. Surprisingly, the head motif from the chorus appears from bar 64, but remains in the form of a chromatic play around C (bars 67/68), starts again and ends again in a chromatic pendulum movement around C in pianissimo (bars 71 ff.). After a short general pause, the pendulum motif then sets in in the energetic forte in the tonic in F major. Mozart also used such surprise effects later, e.g. B. in the final movements of the violin concertos or the symphony KV 201 .
- Refrain bar 93 ff. As at the beginning, end of sentence with chord melody. The sections from bars 1–8 and 9–104 are repeated.
Individual references, comments
- ↑ a b 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. 15-25.
- ↑ a b Volker Scherliess : The symphonies. In: Silke Leopold (Ed.): Mozart-Handbuch. Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel 2005, ISBN 3-7618-2021-6 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Neal Zaslaw: Mozart's earliest symphonies. Symphony in F major, KV 19a. Text contribution to: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Early Symphonies 1764–1771 , German translation by Henning Weber from 1982. Recording by the Academy of Ancient Music ; Concertmaster Jaap Schröder, continuo: Christopher Hogwood. Decca Record, London 1986.
- ^ Alfred Einstein: Chronological-thematic directory of all of Wolfgang Amade Mozart's music works. In addition to the information about the lost, started, transferred, dubious and superseded compositions by Dr. Ludwig Ritter von Köchel. Third edition, edited by Alfred Einstein. Breitkopf & Härtel-Verlag, Leipzig 1937, 984 pp.
Web links, notes
- Symphony KV Anh. 223 (Mozart) : Score and critical report in the New Mozart Edition