Understanding
Music
MUS
100
Work Report
by:
Vladislav Exxx
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
Symphony
No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
Instructor:
Dr. Timothy M. Crain
DePaul
University
11
November 2002
I. Work Analysis
Being
an admirer of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I chose to analyze
Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. An early analyst and critic of Mozart’s
music, Otto Jahn called the Symphony No. 40 “a symphony of pain and
lamentation.” Another critic said it was “nothing but joy and animation”
(Kramer 480). While these two remarks may be used as extreme ways to interpret
the symphony, its character and mood are captivating and touching.
The
standard instrumentation 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 the
crescendos and sforzandos.
The
symphony itself is comprised of four movements:
Movement One –
Molto allegro
Movement Two – Andante
Movement Three –
Allegretto
Movement Four –
Allegro assai
The
first movement of the symphony opens in a minor key with a piano but agitated
principal theme that repeats itself throughout the movement. Such an opening is
not a usual one; a listener may have expected some sort of an introduction to
precede such a theme, but Mozart decides to omit any prelude, thereby
establishing a certain feeling of restlessness or anxiety. The first movement
exhibits frequent interchanges between piano and forte. Of all the sections of
the first movement, only the development is played in a major key with disjunct
motion. This, combined with other expressive elements, further contributes to
the movement’s general uneasy mood. The meter here is duple simple, and it
remains constant throughout the movement. The first movement is presented in
the Sonata-allegro form, with a motivic structure quality in the principal
theme, and a homophonic texture.
Obediently
following 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 of piano, but sforzandos are contributed by the basses. The meter in this
movement is duple compound, and like in the first movement, this one is
composed in sonata-allegro form. Homophonic accompaniment in an E-flat tonality
supports a wide-range, but conjunct-motion melody that is characterized by
regular periodic structures.
The
third movement is in triple simple meter with the orchestra once again
dominated by the strings. The minuet and trio form naturally divides the movement
into three sections with different keys, dynamics, and a da capo. The minuet
section and its a da capo are played forte and in a minor key, while the trio
is piano and in a major key. The tempo remains allegretto throughout the entire
movement. Unlike the second movement, the motion of the melody is disjunct and
wide-range, structured in regular periods. The movement begins in a G minor
tonality and then changes to G major. The texture remains homophonic throughout
the entire movement.
The
final movement of the symphony is again dominated by the strings. The tempo of
this movement is allegro assai, which combined with disjunct melodic motion in
the portions played forte, maintains the stressful, nervous mood of the
symphony. These sections are interchanged by ones played piano and adagio, with
a narrow melodic range and conjunct motion. This movement is composed in
sonata-allegro form with a duple simple meter. The motion is mostly conjunct,
except for sections played presto, where the motion is disjunct and the range
is wide. The tonality of this movement is G minor, and the texture is
homophonic.
II. Composer background.
At the time of this symphony’s composition, in the first
half of 1788 when Mozart’s creative powers were at their peak, his everyday
life suddenly began to deteriorate. Although he had recently been appointed a
composer to the Court 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 an abundance of students provided him with an adequate income. He had
triumphed in Prague with The Marriage of Figaro in 1786 and Don
Giovanni in 1787. Now his fortunes went into a slump. When Don Giovanni
was performed for the first time in Vienna, on the 7th of May, 1788,
it aroused mixed reactions. Although it was given fifteen times that year, it
does not seem to have been regarded as a success in Vienna. In the spring of
1788 Mozart could not obtain enough subscribers to a set of three string
quintets, and the projected publication was postponed and then abandoned. In
June Mozart planned a series of public concerts, but these apparently did not
occur. After 1788, Mozart would never again perform a public concert in Vienna,
and his desperate 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. The
failures of his performances and the consequent financial hardships took a
heavy toll on Mozart’s already fragile health. The lack of commission or public
recognition, however, did not stop Mozart from writing. Mozart composed his
last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41) in only two months, without
commission or payment. Furthermore, at least two of these symphonies were never
performed during his lifetime. As to why they were not performed, some people
believe that Mozart had such an intense inner need to express himself that he
could not wait for a patron from whom to charge commission. Perhaps these were
the circumstances that inspired such a feeling of insecurity, anxiety, and
urgency in Symphony No. 40. The composer needed success, recognition, and
simply money.
IV. Personal
Reaction.
On
a personal level, I was also inspired with the same unexplained feeling of
urgency and anxiety while listening to this symphony. The first movement
creates this mood with its very first motive. However, it seemed hard for me to
follow through the entire piece without having lost some of this impression to the
more subdued second and third movements. Perhaps Mozart’s emotions at the time
were too complex for me to understand at this point; after all, these two
movements were not composed just to fill the void between the first and the
last movements. But maybe Mozart knew that the listeners would be exhausted if
the same mood prevailed throughout the entire symphony.
Either
way, my personal preference remains with the more sonically and emotionally
powerful productions of such composers such as Chaikovsky, Prokofiev, Grieg,
and Wagner who managed to deliver similarly strong emotions through shorter,
more concise pieces of music. For example, Chaikovsky’s famous ballet The
Nutcracker is comprised of several short suites, each one with its own
feeling, mood, and character The entire work feels like a wonderful theme park,
rather than a long, consuming labyrinth that comes to mind with Mozart’s
Symphony No. 40. Edward Grieg in his In der Halle des Bergkцnigs and
Richard Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries fascinate and inspire me to a
much greater extent, despite their much smaller duration. Of course, it should
not be forgotten that the pieces I listed are all operas and ballets and have
very little to do with the symphony in general, but they are still the music I
prefer thanks to their equally high power and better understandability.
Bibliography
Broder, Nathan, ed. Mozart: Symphony
in G minor, K. 550. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1967.
Kramer, Jonathan D. Listen to the
Music: A Self-Guided Tour Through the Orchestral Repertoire. New York:
Schirmer Books, 1988.
Steinberg, Michael. The Symphony: A
Listener’s Guide. New York: Oxford UP, 1995.
Unger-Hamilton, Clive, ed. The Great
Symphonies. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1983.
Zaslaw, Neal. Mozart’s Symphonies:
Context, Performance Practice, Reception. New York: Oxford UP, 1989.
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