Symphony No. 31 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 31 in D major, K.
297/300a, better known as the Paris Symphony, is one of the more famous symphonies
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
.
during Mozart's unsuccessful job-hunting sojourn in Paris. The composer was then 22 years old. The premiere took place on 12 June 1778 in a private performance in the home of Count Karl Heinrich Joseph von Sickingen, the ambassador of the Palatinate. The public premiere took place six days later in a performance by the Concert Spirituel
..
The work received a positive review in the June 26th issue of the Courrier de l'Europe, published in London:
The Concert Spirituel performed the work again on the 15th of August, this time with a new second movement, an Andante replacing the original Andantino in 6/8 (the latter, according to Deutsch, "had failed to please".)
The work evidently was popular. Deutsch lists several further performances by the Concert Spirituel during 1779, on 18 and 23 March, 23 May, and 3 June; and on 14 May 1780. The work was published in Paris by Sieber and announced for sale 20 February 1779. During the years 1782 to 1788, Sieber's catalog described it as "in the repertoire of the Concert Spiritual".
The symphony was later performed in the Burgtheater
in Vienna
on 11 March 1783 during a benefit concert for Mozart's sister-in-law, the singer Aloysia Weber
.
normally found in classical
-era symphonies:
The symphony is notable at the time for its unusually large instrumentation
, scored for a large orchestra that was available to Mozart during his time in Paris
: 2 flute
s, 2 oboe
s, 2 clarinet
s in A, 2 bassoon
s, 2 horn
s, 2 trumpet
s, timpani
, and strings
. This symphony was Mozart's first to use clarinets.
The first movement opens with a rising and accelerating D major scale in an effect known at the time as the Mannheim Rocket
. The early version of the second movement still exists.
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
297/300a, better known as the Paris Symphony, is one of the more famous symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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...
.
Composition and premiere
The work was composed in 17781778 in music
- Classical music :*François Joseph Gossec – Symphonie concertante en fa majeur n° 2, à plusieurs instruments*Joseph Haydn – Little Organ Mass*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Symphony No...
during Mozart's unsuccessful job-hunting sojourn in Paris. The composer was then 22 years old. The premiere took place on 12 June 1778 in a private performance in the home of Count Karl Heinrich Joseph von Sickingen, the ambassador of the Palatinate. The public premiere took place six days later in a performance by the Concert Spirituel
Concert Spirituel
The Concert Spirituel was one of the first public concert series in existence. The concerts began in Paris in 1725 and ended in 1790; later, concerts or series of concerts of the same name occurred in Paris, Vienna, London and elsewhere...
..
The work received a positive review in the June 26th issue of the Courrier de l'Europe, published in London:
- The Concert Spirituel on Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
Day began with a symphony by M.Monsieur' is an honorific title that used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It is also a customary French title of respect and term of address for a French-speaking man, corresponding to such English titles as Mr...
Mozart. This artist, who from the tenderest age made a name for himself among harpsichord players, may today be ranked among the most able composers.
The Concert Spirituel performed the work again on the 15th of August, this time with a new second movement, an Andante replacing the original Andantino in 6/8 (the latter, according to Deutsch, "had failed to please".)
The work evidently was popular. Deutsch lists several further performances by the Concert Spirituel during 1779, on 18 and 23 March, 23 May, and 3 June; and on 14 May 1780. The work was published in Paris by Sieber and announced for sale 20 February 1779. During the years 1782 to 1788, Sieber's catalog described it as "in the repertoire of the Concert Spiritual".
The symphony was later performed in the Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
on 11 March 1783 during a benefit concert for Mozart's sister-in-law, the singer Aloysia Weber
Aloysia Weber
Maria Aloysia Louise Antonia Weber was a German soprano, remembered primarily for her association with the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-Biography:...
.
The music
The symphony is laid out in fast-slow-fast form, omitting the MinuetMinuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
normally found in classical
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
-era symphonies:
- Allegro assai, 4/4
- Andante, 3/4
- Allegro, 2/2
The symphony is notable at the time for its unusually large instrumentation
Instrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
, scored for a large orchestra that was available to Mozart during his time in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
: 2 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s, 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 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in A, 2 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...
s, 2 horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s, 2 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, and strings
String 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...
. This symphony was Mozart's first to use clarinets.
The first movement opens with a rising and accelerating D major scale in an effect known at the time as the Mannheim Rocket
Mannheim school
Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of Mannheim in the latter half of the 18th century as well as the group of composers who wrote such music for the orchestra of Mannheim and others.-History:...
. The early version of the second movement still exists.