Symphony No. 11 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
Symphony No. 11 in D major, K. 84/73q, was at one time considered unquestionably to be the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
. Its status has, however, been challenged, and (as of 2008) remains uncertain. It is believed to date from 1770, and may have been written in Milan or Bologna, if it is a genuine Mozart work. An early manuscript from Vienna attributes the work to Wolfgang, but nineteenth century copies of the score attribute it respectively to Leopold Mozart
and to Carl Dittersdorf
. Neal Zaslaw writes: "A comparison of the results of two stylistic analyses of the work's first movement with analyses of unquestionably genuine first movements of the period by the three composers suggests that Wolfgang is the most likely of the three to have been the composer of K73q".
The symphony is in three movements, lacking a minuet and trio. Kenyon opines that there is "little special" about the work, while Zaslaw finds a "Gluckish ambience", and some affinity with opera buffa in the repeated triplets found in the Finale.
, 2 oboe
s, 2 horns
, bassoon
, continuo
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. Its status has, however, been challenged, and (as of 2008) remains uncertain. It is believed to date from 1770, and may have been written in Milan or Bologna, if it is a genuine Mozart work. An early manuscript from Vienna attributes the work to Wolfgang, but nineteenth century copies of the score attribute it respectively to Leopold Mozart
Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule.-Childhood and student years:He was born in Augsburg, son of...
and to Carl Dittersdorf
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
----August Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was an Austrian composer, violinist and silvologist.-1739-1764:...
. Neal Zaslaw writes: "A comparison of the results of two stylistic analyses of the work's first movement with analyses of unquestionably genuine first movements of the period by the three composers suggests that Wolfgang is the most likely of the three to have been the composer of K73q".
The symphony is in three movements, lacking a minuet and trio. Kenyon opines that there is "little special" about the work, while Zaslaw finds a "Gluckish ambience", and some affinity with opera buffa in the repeated triplets found in the Finale.
Movements and instrumentation
The instrumentation was: stringsString section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 horns
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, continuo
- Allegro, 4/4
- Andante, 3/8
- Allegro, 2/4
Sources
- Dearling, Robert: The Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Symphonies Associated University Presses Ltd, London 1982 ISBN 0-8386-2335-2
- Kenyon, NicholasNicholas KenyonSir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms 1996-2007 following which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, Europe's largest multi-arts centre.-Education and career:After attending St Bede's...
: The Pegasus Pocket Guide to Mozart Pegasus Books, New York 2006 ISBN 1-933648-23-6 - Zaslaw, NealNeal ZaslawNeal Zaslaw is an American musicologist.Born in New York, Zaslaw graduated from Harvard in 1961 with a BA and obtained his master's from Juilliard in 1963. He played flute in the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski from 1962 to 1965. In 1970 he received his Ph.D from Columbia...
:Mozart's Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception OUP, Oxford 1991 ISBN 0-19-816286-3