Mozart's First Concerto

Sonatas composed from 1773 to 1784 were intended as “public” works from the very beginning, with a clear conception of the taste, preferences, and instruments available to the musical public of Vienna. The Sonata in F Major, Hob. XVI: 23; L38 written in 1773 for solo harpsichord is the best known and most virtuosic of

The piece that I decide to do was Mozart Symphony No. 40 because it seemed like it would have the most instruments, different dynamics and a different sound to it.

The 2nd movement of the Mozart k310 Piano Sonata resembles standard sonata form in many ways. It opens with a first theme in F (same as key signature). The theme is four bars long; two bars of antecedant, two bars of consequent. Mozart then starts the first theme again with a 32nd note run pick-up instead of the 16th note arpeggio pick-up in the the begginning of the piece so we are prepared for variation in the second statement of the first theme. He then continues the theme with variation until the consequent phrase which is completely different from the first consequent phrase. This new consequent has not only faster rythmic movement but also compressed harmonic rythym. This tension

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart lived from January 27, 1756 to December 5, 1791. Mozart was a very influential and prolific composer of more than 600 works, including symphonies, concertante, chamber, piano, opera, and choral music. Regarded as a child prodigy, Mozart composed and performed in the European courts from the age of five, and was engaged at the Salzburg court at 17. Mozart’s musical style can be classified as Classical, although he learned from many of his contemporaries throughout his musical career. In order to better understand Mozart’s genius it is best to begin looking at his earliest contributions to the musical world as a child. From there, an exploration of his

a)The "Beethoven Concerto"s and Op. 37's Placement in the Genre and as a continuation of Mozart's Style

     Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) is regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived. He began writing minuets at the age of 5,and by the time he died in 1791 at the age of 35, he had produced 626 cataloged works. “ Mozart has enriched the concerto form with a larger number of masterpieces than any other composer.”1

Since the Baroque era, the concerto has played a vital role in the music world. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, a concerto is “a composition for one or more soloists and orchestra with three contrasting movements.” There are two main types: the concerto grosso and the classical concerto; both will be discussed later. While the term concerto is relatively easy to understand in context, when put into use the term becomes more complicated to define.

The first piece that was played was Mozart’s Symphony No.40. This is a beautiful piece of music. There are 38 players in the orchestra for this piece. And they all played

He first decided to use the clarinet in his composition of Divertimento, K 113, due to the singing qualities it possessed. He composed the Clarinet Concerto in 1791 for a clarinetist by the name of Anton Stadler. The concerto was on one of the Mozart’s last compositions and his last concerto for a solo instrument. The composition of the piece began in 1787 for basset horn in G with about 200 measures and then was revisited in the last few weeks of Mozart’s life in 1791.

Thesis: Wolfgang Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor has been admired and analyzed numerous times. Although it has been criticized by many, I believe deeply interpreting this piece will aid in a better understanding of the music during the Classical

Even though the two pieces were composed in different centuries – Mozart’s piece in the 18th century and Strauss’ piece in the 20th century – some of the musical elements that they share transcend both time periods. The characteristics of music in the classical period had to do with the new view of human psychology. Mozart was one to introduce contrasting moods within movements or even within a theme. He was able to infuse strong contrasts of moods within the style of his music (Burkholder, Grout, & Palisca 475). In Figaro, Mozart includes an overture which is a piece in sonata form despite its lack of a development section. In Act I cavatina, “Se vuol ballare”, Mozart whimsically makes changes to the character of his music so as to correspond to Figaro’s machinations (Hambrik n.p). By doing so, he musically

Several of his twenty-two operas gained worldwide recognition soon after his death, and they still please audiences all over the world. The Marriage of Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787) are operas he composed with words in Italian. The Magic Flute (1791) has German words. Each of these contains arias (beautiful melodies for singers), recitative (Rapidly sung dialogue), ensembles in which several people sing at the same time, and choruses. The orchestra provides an ever-changing expressive accompaniment. The drama ranges from comedy to tragedy. Mozart wrote over forty symphonies, many of which are performed today. Some originally were overtures (orchestral introductions) for operas, and last only a few minutes. His later symphonies, which are the most popular, are full-length orchestral compositions that last twenty to thirty minutes. Most of them consist of four sections. Mozart’s last and most famous symphony, Number 41 (1788), is nicknamed the Jupiter.

Mozart and his father Leopold continue on three more journeys throughout Italy. Each time, Mozart becomes more and more exposed to music and gets commissioned to compose more pieces. He travels to all major music centers in Italy, from Verona and Milan to Bologna and Florence. On his three journeys, he composes pieces such as Mitridate, re di Ponto, La Betulia liberata, Ascanio in Alba and various symphonies, string quartets, and divertimentos. These tours lasted from 1769-1773.

The rest of the orchestra enters; the high woodwinds take the fugue theme while the lower instruments emphasize each downbeat with familiar chordal movement. The fugue enters the development section and twists through a variety of major and minor tonalities. Mozart delays the recapitulation by inserting three Adagio major chords repeated three times. Now the ‘magic number’ is made blatantly apparent. The second Allegro opens, in Bb this time, and the anticipation build as Mozart introduces dramatic dynamic contrast and contrapuntal texture. The overture ends in its original key, with three pronounced Eb major chords accentuating the triumphant conclusion.

The first movement of Mozart’s piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major is written fairly typically in the very structured sonata form. Historically is follows the main guidelines that were understood for the form. Harmonically, is progresses like expected. There are a few surprises here and there, but they are typical for Mozart’s compositions, especially his sonatas of the 18th century. In all, it makes a very interesting piece of work, especially with so much contrast within it.