The Symphonies Vol. VII

Abstract

The symphonies of 1773-75 The 7 symphonies presented here, written between the time that Mozart was 17 years, 8 months old and the time that he was 19 years, 6 months, may be divided into 3 kinds: 4 Germanic concert-symphonies with minuets and repeated sections in all movements, each lasting more than 25minutes (K. 183, 200, 201, 202); 2 symphonies in abrmat similar to the previous 4 but drawn from orchestral serenades (K. 203, 204); and 1 Italianate overture-symphony, without a minuet and without repeated sections, lasting around 7 minutes, created from an opera overture (K. 121). None of these symphonies were printed during Mozart's lifetime, although 2 of them (K. 182, 202)were brought out as early as 1798-99. Mozart visited Vienna from the middle of July until the end of September 1773; the autograph manuscript of the G-minor symphony, K. 183, is dated 5 October 1773. This symphony and 3 others (K. 201, 202, 200) are longer and more serious than any of Mozart's previous symphonies, and most commentators suggest that this must have been the result of the Viennese visit. (In case we wonder what it was that Mozart heard in Vienna, Charles Burney, who spent some weeks there in 1772, tells us that the Viennese composers who were distinguishing themselves at that time were Hasse, Gluck, Gassmann, Wagenseil, Salieri, Hoffman, Haydn, Dittersdorf, Vanhal, and Huber.) We do not know of particular occasions for which any of this tetralogy may have been composed. A trip to Munich to attend the rehearsals and performance of La finta giardiniera lasted from 6 December 1774 until 7 March 1775. This journey seems to have had an effect quite opposite to that of the journey to Vienna, for afterwards Mozart composed no further original symphonies prior to his visit to Paris in 1778. This is especially surprising in the light of the fact that on 16 November 1775 the Archbishop of Salzburg opened a new theatre, the existence of which surely created a demand for music to grace the plays presented there. It may be an indication of Mozart's profound disillusionment with Salzburg at the time that he failed to respond to this opportunity.