Post by erik on Jul 31, 2021 12:24:49 GMT -5
The shortest of Mozart's symphonies is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 32 IN G MAJOR, K. 318
During his relatively short time in the world, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was known for composing things where there is a somewhat incomplete written record as to where and why. His 32nd Symphony is one of those works. Composed sometime in 1779, after a return from Paris that was a personal catastrophe for him (his mother passed away there), though it yielded his Paris Symphony (#31) and the Sinfonia-Concertante For Four Winds and Orchestra, the 32nd is essentially a single-movement work lasting eight minutes in length, but divided into the older form of an Italian-style sinfonia-overture in three movements: (1) Allegro Spiritoso; (2) Andante; and (3) Tempo Primo. Given that Mozart was moving more in the direction of composing four-movement symphonies as his older friend Haydn was doing, the Symphony No. 32 is something of an anomaly. The orchestration is also in some dispute. Pairs of flutes, oboes, and bassoons, plus four horns, and a pair of trumpets, plus the usual string compliment, are what are called for; the dispute is whether or not timpani are also called for as well. Some have speculated that what Mozart had in mind was compose this as an overture for his opera “Zaide”; others have said it was originally supposed to be the overture for “Thamos, King Of Egypt”. No evidence, however, has been bought forth to substantiate either claim. Due to its relative shortness, there have been far more recordings of this symphony than any of the much earlier three-movement symphonies Mozart composed during his single-digit years and teen years in Salzburg.
Dresden State Orchestra/SIR COLIN DAVIS (Philips)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 30 IN D MAJOR, K. 202
SYMPHONY NO. 31 IN D MAJOR, K. 297 (PARIS)
SYMPHONY NO. 33 IN B FLAT MAJOR, K. 319
Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 32 IN G MAJOR, K. 318
During his relatively short time in the world, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was known for composing things where there is a somewhat incomplete written record as to where and why. His 32nd Symphony is one of those works. Composed sometime in 1779, after a return from Paris that was a personal catastrophe for him (his mother passed away there), though it yielded his Paris Symphony (#31) and the Sinfonia-Concertante For Four Winds and Orchestra, the 32nd is essentially a single-movement work lasting eight minutes in length, but divided into the older form of an Italian-style sinfonia-overture in three movements: (1) Allegro Spiritoso; (2) Andante; and (3) Tempo Primo. Given that Mozart was moving more in the direction of composing four-movement symphonies as his older friend Haydn was doing, the Symphony No. 32 is something of an anomaly. The orchestration is also in some dispute. Pairs of flutes, oboes, and bassoons, plus four horns, and a pair of trumpets, plus the usual string compliment, are what are called for; the dispute is whether or not timpani are also called for as well. Some have speculated that what Mozart had in mind was compose this as an overture for his opera “Zaide”; others have said it was originally supposed to be the overture for “Thamos, King Of Egypt”. No evidence, however, has been bought forth to substantiate either claim. Due to its relative shortness, there have been far more recordings of this symphony than any of the much earlier three-movement symphonies Mozart composed during his single-digit years and teen years in Salzburg.
Dresden State Orchestra/SIR COLIN DAVIS (Philips)
Included:
SYMPHONY NO. 30 IN D MAJOR, K. 202
SYMPHONY NO. 31 IN D MAJOR, K. 297 (PARIS)
SYMPHONY NO. 33 IN B FLAT MAJOR, K. 319