Symphony No. 41 | |
---|---|
Jupiter | |
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
Key | C major |
Catalogue | K. 551 |
Composed | 1788 |
Movements | 4 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788. [1] The longest and last symphony that he composed, it is regarded by many critics as among the greatest symphonies in classical music. [2] [3] The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony, probably coined by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon. [4]
The autograph manuscript of the symphony is preserved in the Berlin State Library.
The symphony is scored for flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in C and F, 2 trumpets in C, timpani in C and G, and strings.
Symphony No. 41 is the last of a set of three that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. No. 39 was completed on 26 June and No. 40 on 25 July. [1] Nikolaus Harnoncourt argues that Mozart composed the three symphonies as a unified work, pointing, among other things, to the fact that the Symphony No. 41, as the final work, has no introduction (unlike No. 39) but has a grand finale. [5]
Around the same time as he composed the three symphonies, Mozart was writing his piano trios in E major (K. 542) and C major (K. 548), his piano sonata No. 16 in C (K. 545)—the so-called Sonata facile , and a violin sonatina (K. 547).
It is not known of a certainty whether Symphony No. 41 was ever performed in the composer's lifetime. According to Otto Erich Deutsch, Mozart was preparing to hold a series of "Concerts in the Casino" around this time in a new casino in the Spiegelgasse owned by Philipp Otto. Mozart even sent a pair of tickets for this series to his friend Michael Puchberg. Historians have not determined whether the concert series was held or was cancelled for lack of interest. [1] However, the new symphony in C was performed at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 1789—at least according to its concert program.
The four movements are arranged in the traditional symphonic form of the Classical era:
The symphony typically has a duration of about 33 minutes.
The sonata form first movement's main theme begins with contrasting motifs: a threefold tutti outburst on the fundamental tone (respectively, by an ascending motion leading in a triplet from the dominant tone underneath to the fundamental one), followed by a more lyrical response.
This exchange is heard twice and then followed by an extended series of fanfares. What follows is a transitional passage where the two contrasting motifs are expanded and developed. From there, the second theme group begins with a lyrical section in G major which ends suspended on a seventh chord and is followed by a stormy section in C minor. Following a full stop, the expositional coda begins which quotes Mozart's insertion aria "Un bacio di mano", K. 541 and then ends the exposition on a series of fanfares. [6]
The development begins with a modulation from G major to E♭ major where the insertion-aria theme is then repeated and extensively developed. A false recapitulation then occurs where the movement's opening theme returns but softly and in F major. The first theme group's final flourishes then are extensively developed against a chromatically falling bass followed by a restatement of the end of the insertion aria then leading to C major for the true recapitulation. [6] With the exception of the usual key transpositions and some expansion of the minor key sections, the recapitulation proceeds in a regular fashion. [6]
The second movement, also in sonata form, is a sarabande of the French type in F major (the subdominant key of C major) similar to those found in the keyboard suites of J.S. Bach. [6] This is the only symphonic slow movement of Mozart's to bear the indication cantabile. The opening melody, played by muted violins, is never allowed to conclude without interruption. A secondary development section disrupts the recapitulation with rhythmic figures. [7]
The third movement, a menuetto marked "allegretto" is similar to a Ländler, a popular Austrian folk dance form. Midway through the movement, there is a chromatic progression in which sparse imitative textures are presented by the woodwinds (bars 43–51) before the full orchestra returns. In the trio section of the movement, the four-note figure that will form the main theme of the last movement appears prominently (bars 68–71), but on the seventh degree of the scale rather than the first, and in a minor key rather than a major, giving it a very different character.
The movement was later arranged and covered by Mike Batt as The Wombles; it was released as a single in October 1974 and spent nine weeks in the UK singles chart, peaking at number 16. [8]
Finally, a distinctive characteristic of this symphony is the five-voice fugato (representing the five major themes) at the end of the fourth movement. But there are fugal sections throughout the movement either by developing one specific theme or by combining two or more themes together, as seen in the interplay between the woodwinds. The main theme consists of four notes:
Four additional themes are heard in the symphony's finale (which is in sonata form) and all five motifs are combined in the fugal coda.
In an article about the Jupiter Symphony, Sir George Grove wrote that "it is for the finale that Mozart has reserved all the resources of his science, and all the power, which no one seems to have possessed to the same degree with himself, of concealing that science, and making it the vehicle for music as pleasing as it is learned. Nowhere has he achieved more". Of the piece as a whole, he wrote that "It is the greatest orchestral work of the world which preceded the French Revolution". [9]
The four-note theme is a common plainchant motif which can be traced back at least as far as Thomas Aquinas's "Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium" from the 13th century. [10] It was very popular with Mozart. It makes a brief appearance as early as his Symphony No. 1 in 1764. Later, he used it in the Credo of an early Missa Brevis in F major, the first movement of his Symphony No. 33 and trio of the minuet of this symphony. [11] It also appears in the first movement of the violin sonata K481 as the basis for the development section.
Scholars are certain Mozart studied Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 28 in C major, which also has a fugato in its finale and whose coda he very closely paraphrases for his own coda. Charles Sherman speculates that Mozart also studied Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 23 in D major because he "often requested his father Leopold to send him the latest fugue that Haydn had written". [12] The Michael Haydn No. 39, written only a few weeks before Mozart's, also has a fugato in the finale, the theme of which begins with two whole notes. Sherman has pointed out other similarities between the two almost perfectly contemporaneous works. The four-note motif is also the main theme of the contrapuntal finale of Michael's elder brother Joseph's Symphony No. 13 in D major (1764).
According to Franz Mozart, Wolfgang's younger son, the symphony was given the name Jupiter by Johann Peter Salomon, [4] [13] who had settled in London in around 1781. The name has also been attributed to Johann Baptist Cramer, an English music publisher. [14] [15] [16] Reportedly, from the first chords, Mozart's Symphony No. 41 reminded Cramer of Jupiter and his thunderbolts. [16]
The Times of Thursday, May 8, 1817, carries an advertisement for a concert to be given in the Hanover Square Rooms on "Friday next, May 9" to include "Grand Sinfonie (Jupiter), Mozart". The Morning Post of Tuesday, June 3, 1817, carries an advertisement for printed music that includes: "The celebrated movement from Mozart's sympathy [sic], called 'Jupiter', arranged as a Duet, by J. Wilkins, 4s. [4 shillings]".
In a phrase ascribed to musicologist Elaine Sisman in her book Mozart: The 'Jupiter' Symphony, [17] most responses ranged "from admiring to adulatory, a gamut from A to A". [18]
As summarized below, the symphony garnered approbation from critics, theorists, composers, and biographers and came to be viewed as a canonized masterwork known for its fugue and its overall structure that exuded clarity. [19]
The first known recording of the Jupiter Symphony is from around the beginning of World War I, issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company in its black label series, making it one of the first symphonies to be recorded using the acoustic recording technology. [22]
The record labels list the Victor Concert Orchestra as the performers; they omit the conductor, who according to company ledgers was Walter B. Rogers. [23]
The music was heavily abridged and issued on two records: 10-inch 17707 and 12-inch 35430. Victor published two widely separated takes of each of the first two movements under the same catalogue numbers. The distribution, recording dates, and approximate timings were as follows (data from corresponding matrix pages in the Discography of American Historical Recordings as indicated and physical copies of the records):
Sonata form is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th century.
Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). The German title means "a little night music". The work is written for an ensemble of two violins, viola, cello and double bass, but is often performed by string orchestras. The serenade is one of Mozart's most famous works.
Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony", to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony", No. 25. The two are the only extant minor key symphonies Mozart wrote.
Sonata rondo form is a musical form often used during the Classical and Romantic music eras. As the name implies, it is a blend of sonata and rondo forms.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21, was dedicated to Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an early patron of the composer. The piece was published in 1801 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel of Leipzig. It is not known exactly when Beethoven finished writing this work, but sketches of the finale were found to be from 1795.
Cyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end ; other times a theme occurs in a different guise in every part.
The Symphony No. 96 in D major, Hoboken I/96, was completed by Joseph Haydn in 1791 as part of the set of symphonies composed on his first trip to London. It was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 11 March 1791. Although it is the fourth of the twelve London symphonies by number, it was actually the first one written and performed. It is popularly known as the Miracle Symphony.
The Symphony No. 39 in E♭ major of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 543, was completed on 26 June 1788.
Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385, also known as the Haffner Symphony, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782. It was commissioned by the Haffners, a prominent Salzburg family, for the occasion of the ennoblement of Sigmund Haffner the Younger. The Haffner Symphony should not be confused with the eight-movement Haffner Serenade, another piece Mozart wrote on commission from the same family in 1776.
The String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387, nicknamed the "Spring" quartet, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1782 while in Vienna. In the composer's inscription on the title page of the autograph score is stated: "li 31 di decembre 1782 in vienna". The work was perhaps edited in 1783. This is the first of the Haydn Quartets, a set of six string quartets he wrote during his first few years in Vienna and dedicated to Joseph Haydn.
Symphony No. 93 in D major, Hoboken I/93, one of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn.
The Symphony No. 98 in B♭ major, Hoboken I/98, is the sixth of the twelve London symphonies composed by Joseph Haydn. It was completed in 1792 as part of the set of symphonies composed on his first trip to London. It was first performed at the Hanover Square Rooms in London on 2 March 1792. Some musicologists and historians interpret this symphony as Haydn’s tribute to his friend Mozart who had died on 5 December 1791.
The Symphony No. 99 in E♭ major is the seventh of the twelve London symphonies written by Joseph Haydn. The symphony was written in 1793 in Vienna in anticipation for his second trip to London.
Elaine Rochelle Sisman is an American musicologist. The Anne Parsons Bender Professor of Music at Columbia University, Sisman specializes in music, rhetoric, and aesthetics of the 18th and 19th centuries, and has written on such topics as memory and invention in late Beethoven, ideas of pathétique and fantasia around 1800, Haydn's theater symphonies, the sublime in Mozart's music, and Brahms's slow movements. She is the author of Haydn and the Classical Variation and Mozart: The 'Jupiter' Symphony and editor of Haydn and His World. Her monograph-length article on "variations" appears in the revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and she is at work on studies of music and melancholy, of Don Giovanni, and of the opus-concept in the eighteenth century.
Symphony No. 83 in G minor, Hoboken I/83, is the second of the six Paris Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn in 1785. It was published by Artaria in Vienna in December 1787. It is popularly known as The Hen.
The Symphony No. 75 in D major is a symphony composed by Joseph Haydn between 1779 and 1781.
Symphony No. 65 in A major, Hoboken I/65, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn which was composed by 1778.
The Symphony No. 52 in C minor is one of the last Sturm und Drang symphonies composed by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn while the composer was in residence at Esterházy in 1771 or 1772.
Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 39 in C major, Perger 31, Sherman 39, MH 478, written in Salzburg in 1788, is the last C major symphony he wrote, the sixth of his final set of six symphonies.
The Symphony No. 30 in C major, Hoboken I/30, is a symphony by Joseph Haydn composed in 1765, at the age of 33. It is nicknamed the Alleluia Symphony because of Haydn's use of a Gregorian Alleluia chant in the opening movement.
Mozart's last symphony, No. 41, the 'Jupiter', was in third place
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