Mozart: The Symphonies

Product Information

It’s no secret that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest, most prolific composers of all time. While he excelled in many different types of composition, including opera, chamber and piano works, it’s his symphonic work that best shows his musical genius. The symphonies spanned his entire career, from ages 8 to 32, showing his range and development, originally numbered as brilliant 41 works. Although some have since been identified as falsely attributed, the remaining number still ranks him as one of the most impressive of all the major symphonists, behind only Haydn who wrote an astonishing 106. Favorite Moment:The fourth movement is one of Mozart’s greatest symphonic compositions and on the whole is incredible. My favorite moment is probably the building up to and first appearance of the movement’s shattering fortissimo theme. Excerpt from the third movement, “Presto,” of Mozart's Symphony No. 38 in D Major, K 504 ( Prague); from a 1950 recording by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer. (more) The first and second movements together constitute the overture to the opera Il sogno di Scipione, K. 126. The third movement is listed separately as K. 161/163. Favorite Moment:I love the falling, juggled motifs in the Andante and the woodwind textures of the third movement’s trio but the greatest moment has to be the game changing opener. Not only is it one of his most recognizable melodies, the unassuming entrance of the work was unprecedented and would be copied by many over the next hundreds of years, including Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff in their greatest works.

This is a list of symphonies by the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Symphonies No. 2 (attributed to Leopold Mozart) and 3 (written by Carl Friedrich Abel) are spurious. Mozart's "37th symphony" is actually Michael Haydn's 25th symphony; Mozart only added a 20-bar slow introduction to it. Some symphonies of uncertain authenticity were included in either the Alte Mozart-Ausgabe or the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe; they are in this list but marked as uncertain or spurious (in the cases of K. 16a and K. 98, which later scholarship demonstrated have nothing to do with Mozart). No. 11 (K. 84/73q) is considered by scholars to be of uncertain authenticity. Further spurious and doubtful symphonies can be found at Mozart symphonies of spurious or doubtful authenticity.

Tracklist

The first and second movements based on music from the opera Il re pastore, K. 208. The third movement is listed separately as K. 102/213c. The second movement is incomplete. Unfortunately, Mozart has written a lot of symphonies that were either destroyed, unfinished, unpublished, or lost but, some are fortunately included in his list of symphonies. It was actually discovered that Mozart had written 52 symphonies. The finales of both are done with exceptional vitality and the rhythmic resilience that's characteristic of these performances. In December 1769, Mozart, then age 13, and his father departed from Salzburg for Italy, leaving his mother and sister at home. It seems that by this time Nannerl’s professional music career was over. She was nearing marriageable age and according to the custom of the time, she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent in public. The Italian outing was longer than the others (1769-1771) as Leopold wanted to display his son’s abilities as a performer and composer to as many new audiences as possible. While in Rome, Mozart heard Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere performed once in the Sistine Chapel. He wrote out the entire score from memory, returning only to correct a few minor errors. During this time Mozart also wrote a new opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto for the court of Milan. Other commissions followed and in subsequent trips to Italy, Mozart wrote two other operas, Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Mozart adopts a French style of orchestral music in this symphony, written in 1778. The string players are pushed to the fore and the wind section is larger than usual – he even uses clarinets. Rushing scales and lively dynamic changes give this symphony a playful character.

The first and second movements together constitute the overture to the opera Ascanio in Alba, K. 111. The third movement is listed separately as K. 120/111a. In 1762, Mozart’s father took Nannerl, now age eleven, and Wolfgang, age six to the court of Bavaria in Munich in what was to become the first of several European "tours." The siblings traveled to the courts of Paris, London, The Hague, and Zurich performing as child prodigies. Mozart met a number of accomplished musicians and became familiar with their works. Particularity important was his meeting with Johann Christian Bach (Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son) in London who had a strong influence on Mozart. The trips were long and often arduous, traveling in primitive conditions and waiting for invitations and reimbursements from the nobility. Frequently, Mozart and other members of his family fell seriously ill and had to limit their performance schedule. Budding Young Composer Favorite Moment:The driving string theme in the first movement. The development section soon after. The tutti sforzandos in the second movement. The entire fourth movement is unmissable. Favorite Moment:While I the opening theme is a simple genius and I love the violin interplay in the fourth movement, my favorite section is this blending of winds and violins in the Andante; a precursor for the masterful orchestration in the Andantes of the later symphonies. His full name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, and baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, archbishopric of Salzburg [Austria], who died on December 5, 1791, in Vienna, Austria, making him one of theHaving failed to deliver my promised review of the Sony Bruno Walter – The Complete Columbia Collection (Sony 19075923242, Leopold was a devoted and task-oriented teacher to both his children. He made the lessons fun, but also insisted on a strong work ethic and perfection. Fortunately, both children excelled well in these areas. Recognizing their special talents, Leopold devoted much of his time to their education in music as well as other subjects. Wolfgang soon showed signs of excelling beyond his father’s teachings with an early composition at age five and demonstrating outstanding ability on harpsichord and the violin. He would soon go on to play the piano, organ and viola.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent the majority of his short life in Salzburg. His life in Vienna is documented in museums after he left Salzburg. One of the exhibits depicts the life of Europeans in the 1700s, as well as a slice of it. Cathedrals built during the Baroque can be found north of the Alps in Salzburg. The best acoustics are found in the pews immediately beneath the dome. Mozart’s second home is the setting for his residence. Mozart’s father, Le, is buried in Salzburg, whereas Mozart is buried in Vienna. Symphonies 1-20 are in stereo; 21-41 are mono. The mono sound is very clear and not congested, and I enjoyed the mono recordings as much as the stereo ones. The symphony numbers in the range 42 to 56 are sometimes used for symphonic works that were not numbered in the 1-41 sequence. They have been included for completeness, although they are out of chronological sequence. In addition, some authentic symphonies were never given numbers. The symphonies in the 1-41 chronological sequence have been listed first; the symphonies that were given the numbers 42-56 are listed next; and lastly are listed the remaining symphonies. The symphonies given numbers past 41 are sometimes listed with "GA" preceding the number, because these numbers were from the Mozart and his father returned from their last stay in Italy in March 1773. His father’s benefactor, Archbishop von Schrattenbach had died and was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colleredo. Upon their return, the new archbishop appointed young Mozart as assistant concertmaster with a small salary. During this time, young Mozart had the opportunity to work in several different musical genres composing symphonies, string quartets, sonatas and serenades and a few operas. He developed a passion for violin concertos producing what came to be the only five he wrote. In 1776, he turned his efforts toward piano concertos, culminating in the Piano Concerto Number 9 in E flat major in early 1777. Mozart had just turned 21. Favorite Moment:One of my all time favorite Mozart moments comes in the andante of this symphony where the winds take over in with a simple melody in tiers offset by a measure. The arrangement is so simple but creates such a magical effect, exemplifying Mozart’s genius.Over 600 pieces of orchestral, chamber, opera, and choral music were composed by the German composer. Mozart grew up in the Mozart family‘s musical home of Salzburg. Erich Leinsdorf is best known in the United States from his RCA recordings of Romantic and 20th century repertoire with the Boston Symphony from the 1960s, but he also recorded – here released anew by Universal – the first integral cycle of Mozart’s Symphonies in the late 1950s with the “Philharmonic Symphony of London”, actually Sir Thomas Beecham’s Royal Philharmonic under a different name. Mozart’s orchestral work spans 24 years from 1764 to 1788. According to the most recent investigations, Mozart wrote up to 68 complete works of this type. Mozart revised some of the symphonies (K.297, 385, and 550) after they had already been written. Piano sonatas and other piano pieces were Mozart’s first attempts at writing music. Mozart wrote 20 piano solo works between 1782 and 1786, including the piano solo classics (sonatas, variations, fantasias, suites, fugues, and rondo); the Horn Concertos are frequently performed by professional horn players. Almost everything he wrote for the piano was intended to be played solo. Mozart created over 100 types of dance for orchestra, such as Minuetto (more than 100), Contredanse, and Allemande. Mozart’s sacred music, which combines Gregorian choral elements with rigorous counterpoint, has a rich stylistic mosaic. All of his sacred music is distinguished by consistent styling and symmetry.