Post by erik on Feb 18, 2023 21:41:36 GMT -5
An early symphony by Mozart (in terms of how young he still was) is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 21 IN A MAJOR, K. 134
During the period from July 1772 to April 1773, a period of just nine months, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was at his most productive when it came to symphonic writing. In that time, he completed no fewer than sixteen of his forty-one symphonies, specifically nos. 12-27. This was a time that Mozart’s compositional style was rapidly evolving in his later teenage years, primarily through the early classical works of Johann Christian Bach, and, most prominently, with his much older contemporary Franz Joseph Haydn. All of those symphonies were composed while Mozart still lived in Salzburg, a town that would turn out to have not much in the way of love for their wunderkind native until after his untimely death. His 21st Symphony was a product of this nine-month period of symphonic creativity; and though he was still limited somewhat by the orchestral players available (this symphony utilizes only two flutes, two French horns, and the usual string compliment), it is nevertheless another signpost in the history of the symphony, much as his early piano concertos, derived from the works of others, were signposts to how he would totally reinvent the genre of the piano concerto.
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam/JOSEF KRIPS (Philips)
Included):
SYMPHONY NO. 36 IN C MAJOR, K. 425 (LINZ)
Mozart: SYMPHONY NO. 21 IN A MAJOR, K. 134
During the period from July 1772 to April 1773, a period of just nine months, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was at his most productive when it came to symphonic writing. In that time, he completed no fewer than sixteen of his forty-one symphonies, specifically nos. 12-27. This was a time that Mozart’s compositional style was rapidly evolving in his later teenage years, primarily through the early classical works of Johann Christian Bach, and, most prominently, with his much older contemporary Franz Joseph Haydn. All of those symphonies were composed while Mozart still lived in Salzburg, a town that would turn out to have not much in the way of love for their wunderkind native until after his untimely death. His 21st Symphony was a product of this nine-month period of symphonic creativity; and though he was still limited somewhat by the orchestral players available (this symphony utilizes only two flutes, two French horns, and the usual string compliment), it is nevertheless another signpost in the history of the symphony, much as his early piano concertos, derived from the works of others, were signposts to how he would totally reinvent the genre of the piano concerto.
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam/JOSEF KRIPS (Philips)
Included):
SYMPHONY NO. 36 IN C MAJOR, K. 425 (LINZ)