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#83
Symphony No. 36 in C major (aka The "Linz Symphony"), K. 425
WA Mozart
1783
Written in four days by Mozart during a stopover in the Austrian town of Linz on his and his wife Contanza's way back home to Vienna from Salzburg in late 1783 (although not premiered until 1784).
"On Tuesday, November 4th, I an giving a concert in the theatre here and, as I have not a single symphony with me, I am writing a new one at breakneck speed, which must be finished by that time."
When you hear this piece you would never guess that it was written in that kind of haste. It takes its time - with a leisurely and laid back opening, unusual for Mozart. Mozart was always looking for every work he produced to have some sort of novelty, a "hook" if you will, and in this symphony he came up with a new idea of scoring brass and percussion in the slow movement.
I. Adagio, Allegro Spiritoso
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Finale (Presto)
The Adagio introduction to the first movement had become popular with symphonies of Haydn, but Mozart interprets this convention freely, cramming in three contrasts of emotion in a short amount of time. The dotted rhythms and the presence of the timpani at the opening might signal a French-style overture, a noble sound, but the triple meter doesn't fit the type and the bass line wanders through some chromatic harmonies. This music often sounds more like an improvised fantasia, a style by then decades out of date. The violins finally enter with a lyric melody over a pulsing background in the low strings. He follows this up with some darkly shaded solos from the oboe and bassoon, while the urgency of the throbbing accompaniment increases, as if something fateful is about to occur. And . . . it doesn't; The brisk, straightforward march that follows is a surprise, despite the fact that it should have been predictable. The introduction must always yield to an Allegro, but the character was not what we were led to expect. Mozart continues by playing with the standard sonata form as well. The march persists through the transition to what ought to be a singing second theme, as we keep waiting for the lyrical turn that never arrives. Instead, we receive a gavotte that, with its forte punctuation from the oboes and violins (oboes in the eighteenth century definitely being instruments for the outdoors), matches the energy level of the march. The gavotte, a dance from Brittany, popularized in French courts of the seventeenth century, involves crossing feet, hopping, and jumping-far from the graceful cantabile of most second themes. In this movement, Mozart mixes the esoteric fantasia with more recent trends, like the slow introduction, and overturns the standard sonata form with an unexpected gavotte.
And this is one of the reasons I love Mozart: Even though he knows how a symphony should be written, he's a real smart *** in the way he can captivate and surprise his audience.
The oddities continue in the Andante con moto second movement The orchestration for full wind band (oboes, horns, and trumpets) in addition to the strings makes for an unusually heavy Andante, with unexpected fatalistic interjections from horns and timpani. The mood is dark, although there are fleeting major key passages interspersed, like rays of light through shadows.
The Minuetto (or Minuet) is courtly, and the trio contrasts with a certain rustic feel.
The brilliant Presto finale, in direct contrast with to the first three movements, has contrapuntal passages.
Here's the great Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. The orchestra size is far greater than the original version scored for only 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings, yet Kleiber does a great job keeping the intimate moments tender while making the more exciting passages evolve into something quite epic.
I particularly enjoyed this particular comment to this video:
"Kleiber is asking every orchestra member to feel the inner rhythm of every phrase. Look at him at the opening of the finale. There is no "time beating" here. He demands that all members feel the inner strength and elasticity of the sublime music. If you look carefully, you can almost see which ones "get it"--and there is joy in their eyes. Kleiber invites them to all share his vision. The fact that this was, in all probability, impossible was his great cross to bear. But we are fortunate to hear what, to me, is the closest thing to musical perfection ever to come out of an orchestra. Simply a joy._" (maxreger100).
After his entrance, Kleiber begins the piece 1:00 into the video.
Mozart Symphony No 36 in C major KV 425 "Linz"
Symphony No. 36 in C major (aka The "Linz Symphony"), K. 425
WA Mozart
1783
Written in four days by Mozart during a stopover in the Austrian town of Linz on his and his wife Contanza's way back home to Vienna from Salzburg in late 1783 (although not premiered until 1784).
"On Tuesday, November 4th, I an giving a concert in the theatre here and, as I have not a single symphony with me, I am writing a new one at breakneck speed, which must be finished by that time."
When you hear this piece you would never guess that it was written in that kind of haste. It takes its time - with a leisurely and laid back opening, unusual for Mozart. Mozart was always looking for every work he produced to have some sort of novelty, a "hook" if you will, and in this symphony he came up with a new idea of scoring brass and percussion in the slow movement.
I. Adagio, Allegro Spiritoso
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Finale (Presto)
The Adagio introduction to the first movement had become popular with symphonies of Haydn, but Mozart interprets this convention freely, cramming in three contrasts of emotion in a short amount of time. The dotted rhythms and the presence of the timpani at the opening might signal a French-style overture, a noble sound, but the triple meter doesn't fit the type and the bass line wanders through some chromatic harmonies. This music often sounds more like an improvised fantasia, a style by then decades out of date. The violins finally enter with a lyric melody over a pulsing background in the low strings. He follows this up with some darkly shaded solos from the oboe and bassoon, while the urgency of the throbbing accompaniment increases, as if something fateful is about to occur. And . . . it doesn't; The brisk, straightforward march that follows is a surprise, despite the fact that it should have been predictable. The introduction must always yield to an Allegro, but the character was not what we were led to expect. Mozart continues by playing with the standard sonata form as well. The march persists through the transition to what ought to be a singing second theme, as we keep waiting for the lyrical turn that never arrives. Instead, we receive a gavotte that, with its forte punctuation from the oboes and violins (oboes in the eighteenth century definitely being instruments for the outdoors), matches the energy level of the march. The gavotte, a dance from Brittany, popularized in French courts of the seventeenth century, involves crossing feet, hopping, and jumping-far from the graceful cantabile of most second themes. In this movement, Mozart mixes the esoteric fantasia with more recent trends, like the slow introduction, and overturns the standard sonata form with an unexpected gavotte.
And this is one of the reasons I love Mozart: Even though he knows how a symphony should be written, he's a real smart *** in the way he can captivate and surprise his audience.
The oddities continue in the Andante con moto second movement The orchestration for full wind band (oboes, horns, and trumpets) in addition to the strings makes for an unusually heavy Andante, with unexpected fatalistic interjections from horns and timpani. The mood is dark, although there are fleeting major key passages interspersed, like rays of light through shadows.
The Minuetto (or Minuet) is courtly, and the trio contrasts with a certain rustic feel.
The brilliant Presto finale, in direct contrast with to the first three movements, has contrapuntal passages.
Here's the great Carlos Kleiber conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. The orchestra size is far greater than the original version scored for only 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings, yet Kleiber does a great job keeping the intimate moments tender while making the more exciting passages evolve into something quite epic.
I particularly enjoyed this particular comment to this video:
"Kleiber is asking every orchestra member to feel the inner rhythm of every phrase. Look at him at the opening of the finale. There is no "time beating" here. He demands that all members feel the inner strength and elasticity of the sublime music. If you look carefully, you can almost see which ones "get it"--and there is joy in their eyes. Kleiber invites them to all share his vision. The fact that this was, in all probability, impossible was his great cross to bear. But we are fortunate to hear what, to me, is the closest thing to musical perfection ever to come out of an orchestra. Simply a joy._" (maxreger100).
After his entrance, Kleiber begins the piece 1:00 into the video.
Mozart Symphony No 36 in C major KV 425 "Linz"