Mozart: The Late Symphonies

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Wolfgang Finds His Symphonic Voice

It took Mozart practice to write meaningful works for symphony orchestra. The scholars list forty-one finished works, with some additional bits and sketches. Of those, some of the early ones are small, rather juvenile studies. Slightly later works adhere almost too closely to the early symphonic templates used by Haydn and others; they show Mozart as the good student, not yet the great composer.

Near the end of his life, though, Mozart found his orchestral "voice." Beginning with No. 35 (the "Haffner," which was written in 1782) and continuing with the three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41) he wrote in the summer of 1788, Mozart developed an authoritative style notable for symmetry and logic—each event, right down to the tympani in the slow introductory passages of No. 38, functions as part of the melodic framework.

These seven symphonies are high points in the history of music. They're notable for their wildly exuberant dances, their floral colors, and the way Mozart links seemingly disconnected four-to-six-note motifs into larger thematic groups. Some of his writing feels densely packed: By the end of the first movement of No. 38, you feel as if you've lived through a year or two of musical experience. Striking in a different way is No. 40, in G minor, which displays a thicker sense of orchestration and stormier, tempestuous proto-Beethoven moods; some believe this hints at the type of music Mozart might have made had he lived longer.

As in all of his composition, Mozart is extremely attentive to form. The basic outline of a symphonic work hadn't been codified all that long when Mozart began, and most of the late Mozart symphonies follow the accepted blueprint. The first movement is written in "sonata allegro" form, with two themes of contrasting character going through elaborate exposition, then a development "jam" in the middle, then a recapitulation. The second is a reflective, moodier songlike piece; one deeply moving example happens in Symphony No. 38, when after nearly five minutes of a gossamer melody in major key, Mozart moves into minor, broods a bit, and then brings the theme back into the major-key sunlight. The third is usually a dance or a march; the fourth, a blazing finale. These final movements make lots of "That's All, Folks" wrapping-up noises, and of them, No. 41 is beloved for its melodic gyrations, set at a torrid gallop.

These performances, led by the Austrian Karl Böhm, have all the colors of a big modern orchestra and the agility of the small ones prevalent in Mozart's time. Lately much effort has been expended by music historians trying to re-create exactly the instruments, orchestral configurations, and tempi that Mozart and his peers would have used. Hearing these modern renditions, which have that aristocratic high-classical precision but also a brisk dancing-in-the-streets animation, you wonder if academics make too much of the niggling details. When executed with the instinctive feeling Böhm engenders throughout the rapt and responsive Vienna Philharmonic here, Mozart's intentions seem not only honored, but furthered.

Genre: Classical
Released: 1967, Deutsche Grammophon
Key Tracks: Symphony No. 38: first and second movements. Symphony No. 41: second and fourth movements.
Another Interpretation: Vienna Philharmonic (Leonard Bernstein, cond.).
Catalog Choice: Symphonies Nos. 25, 26, 27, 29, and 32, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (Neville Marriner, cond.).
Next Stop: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, Egmont Overture, Berlin Philharmonic (Herbert von Karajan, cond.)
After That: Robert Schumann: The Four Symphonies, Vienna Philharmonic (Leonard Bernstein, cond.).
Book Pages: 529–530

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Comments:

#1 from Tim, Michigan - 06/07/2010 9:24

Okay, this one’s been difficult to find, but I think I’ve finally done it! Just figured I’d share the link for any other interested parties here:

http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Symphonien-35-41-Wolfgang-Amadeus/dp/B000001GQB/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added

Enjoy!

#2 from Mirko, Australia - 01/20/2011 3:29

Nope, this recording is by the Berlin Philhamonic, the only Vienna Philhamonic Recording with Mozart Symphonies 35-41 that I’d come across is a 3 DVD series, released in 2006!!

1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die