Mozart: Symphony #40 in G Minor, K.550 Моцарт: Симфония №40 в си-минор, К. 550

Understanding MusicMUS 100Work Reportby Vladislav ExxxWolfgang Amadeus MozartSymphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550Instructor Dr. Timothy M. CrainDePaul University11 November 2002I. I chose to analyze Mozart s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. An early analyst and critic ofMozart s music, Otto Jahn called the Symphony No. 40 a symphony of pain andlamentation.Another critic said it was nothing but joy and animation Kramer 480 . While these two remarks may be used as extreme ways to interpretthe symphony, its character and mood are captivating and touching.

The standardinstrumentation for this piece includes woodwinds flutes, oboes, clarinets,and bassoons , strings violins, violas, cellos, and basses , and brass horns , The instrumentation does not include any percussion or heavy brass.The horns are used sparingly, only to add density to the tone or emphasize thecrescendos and sforzandos.The symphony itselfis comprised of four movements Movement One Molto allegro MovementTwo Andante Movement Three Allegretto Movement Four Allegro assaiThefirst movement of the symphony opens in a minor key with a piano but agitatedprincipal theme that repeats itself throughout the movement.

Such an opening isnot a usual one a listener may have expected some sort of an introduction toprecede such a theme, but Mozart decides to omit any prelude, therebyestablishing a certain feeling of restlessness or anxiety.The first movementexhibits frequent interchanges between piano and forte. Of all the sections ofthe first movement, only the development is played in a major key with disjunctmotion.

This, combined with other expressive elements, further contributes tothe movement s general uneasy mood. The meter here is duple simple, and itremains constant throughout the movement.The first movement is presented inthe Sonata-allegro form, with a motivic structure quality in the principaltheme, and a homophonic texture.Obedientlyfollowing the sonata plan, Mozart slows down his second movement to andante.Violas play the principal theme and are later joined by the first and second violins,imitating one another.

The dominating strings maintain dynamics within range ofpiano, but sforzandos are contributed by the basses.The meter in this movementis duple compound, and like in the first movement, this one is composed insonata-allegro form. Homophonic accompaniment in an E-flat tonality supports awide-range, but conjunct-motion melody that is characterized by regularperiodic structures.Thethird movement is in triple simple meter with the orchestra once againdominated by the strings.

The minuet and trio form naturally divides themovement into three sections with different keys, dynamics, and a da capo. Theminuet section and its a da capo are played forte and in a minor key, while thetrio is piano and in a major key. The tempo remains allegretto throughout theentire movement. Unlike the second movement, the motion of the melody isdisjunct and wide-range, structured in regular periods.

The movement begins ina G minor tonality and then changes to G major. The texture remains homophonicthroughout the entire movement.Thefinal movement of the symphony is again dominated by the strings. The tempo ofthis movement is allegro assai, which combined with disjunct melodic motion inthe portions played forte, maintains the stressful, nervous mood of thesymphony.These sections are interchanged by ones played piano and adagio, witha narrow melodic range and conjunct motion.

This movement is composed insonata-allegro form with a duple simple meter. The motion is mostly conjunct,except for sections played presto, where the motion is disjunct and the rangeis wide. The tonality of this movement is G minor, and the texture ishomophonic.II. Composer background.At the time of this symphony s composition, in the first half of 1788when Mozart s creative powers were at their peak, his everyday life suddenlybegan to deteriorate.

Although he had recently been appointed a composer to theCourt of Emperor Joseph II, the salary was meager and the duties were light.Two or three years previously Mozart s concert schedule was busy and anabundance of students provided him with an adequate income. He had triumphed inPrague with The Marriage of Figaro in 1786 and Don Giovanni in1787. Now his fortunes went into a slump.When Don Giovanni wasperformed for the first time in Vienna, on the 7th of May, 1788, itaroused mixed reactions.

Although it was given fifteen times that year, it doesnot seem to have been regarded as a success in Vienna. In the spring of 1788Mozart could not obtain enough subscribers to a set of three string quintets,and the projected publication was postponed and then abandoned. In June Mozartplanned a series of public concerts, but these apparently did not occur.After1788, Mozart would never again perform a public concert in Vienna, and hisdesperate financial situation made him write letters to relatives and friends,asking for money Broder vii . Nevertheless,Mozart continued to compose with his characteristic and inspiration.

Thefailures of his performances and the consequent financial hardships took aheavy toll on Mozart s already fragile health. The lack of commission or publicrecognition, however, did not stop Mozart from writing.Mozart composed hislast three symphonies Nos. 39, 40, and 41 in only two months, withoutcommission or payment. Furthermore, at least two of these symphonies were neverperformed during his lifetime.

As to why they were not performed, some peoplebelieve that Mozart had such an intense inner need to express himself that hecould not wait for a patron from whom to charge commission.Perhaps these werethe circumstances that inspired such a feeling of insecurity, anxiety, andurgency in Symphony No. 40. The composer needed success, recognition, andsimply money.

IV. Personal Reaction. On a personal level, I was alsoinspired with the same unexplained feeling of urgency and anxiety whilelistening to this symphony. The first movement creates this mood with its veryfirst motive. However, it seemed hard for me to follow through the entire piecewithout having lost some of this impression to the more subdued second andthird movements.Perhaps Mozart s emotions at the time were too complex for meto understand at this point after all, these two movements were not composedjust to fill the void between the first and the last movements.

But maybeMozart knew that the listeners would be exhausted if the same mood prevailedthroughout the entire symphony. Either way, my personal preferenceremains with the more sonically and emotionally powerful productions of suchcomposers such as Chaikovsky, Prokofiev, Grieg, and Wagner who managed todeliver similarly strong emotions through shorter, more concise pieces ofmusic.For example, Chaikovsky s famous ballet The Nutcracker iscomprised of several short suites, each one with its own feeling, mood, andcharacter The entire work feels like a wonderful theme park, rather than along, consuming labyrinth that comes to mind with Mozart s Symphony No. 40. EdwardGrieg in his In der Halle des Bergk nigs and Richard Wagner s TheRide of the Valkyries fascinate and inspire me to a much greater extent,despite their much smaller duration.

Of course, it should not be forgotten thatthe pieces I listed are all operas and ballets and have very little to do withthe symphony in general, but they are still the music I prefer thanks to theirequally high power and better understandability.

Bibliography Broder, Nathan, ed. Mozart Symphonyin G minor, K. 550. New York W.W. Norton amp Company, 1967.Kramer, Jonathan D. Listen to theMusic A Self-Guided Tour Through the Orchestral Repertoire. New York Schirmer Books, 1988.Steinberg, Michael.The Symphony AListener s Guide. New York Oxford UP, 1995.Unger-Hamilton, Clive, ed. The GreatSymphonies.

New York Facts on File, Inc 1983.Zaslaw, Neal. Mozart s Symphonies Context, Performance Practice, Reception. New York Oxford UP, 1989.