The Summer of a Jupiter Symphony
The year is 1788 as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began to work on his last three symphonies during a time of strife for musicians as the Austro-Turkish War continues to war on in Austria. Tired from moving his family from central Vienna to the suburbs of Alsergrund all while in debt to his ears as he continued to borrow money from friends including a fellow mason, Michael Puchberg, Mozart finished his final symphony on August 10, 1788. This piece, nicknamed the “Jupiter Symphony,” coined by impresario Johann Peter Saloman, was Mozart’s longest symphony with a total of four movements, a typical symphonic form during the Classical era. The Jupiter Symphony totals to about forty five minutes of music ending with a quintuple fugato that brings back the five melodies introduced in the final movement making the closer one of the most complex examples of counterpoint that has ever been created. My goal shall be to give the reader a sense of Mozarts life at the time of this composition, a detailed analysis of all four of these movements, as well as a look at why this piece was seen as a work of innovation.
On January 27th, 1756, at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg, Austria, a Jupiter among mere men and composers was born. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born the son of Anna Maria (1720-1778) and Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), a composer, teacher, and the fourth violinist for Count Leopold Anton von Firmian. Already learning to play the keyboard at a mere age of three years old, Mozart would learn by sight as he watched his seven year old sister took lessons from her music teacher. As Mozart got older and started to develop as a player and composer, his traveled with his father around Europe performing as a child ...
... middle of paper ...
...as he paved the way for composers of the Romantic period like Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioachino Rossini, and Franz Schubert. No one can doubt the finality that mirrors Mozart’s life in his final symphony and his final farewell.
Bibliography
Abert, Hermann. W. A. Mozart. Germany: Breitkopf and Hartel. 1956, Print.
Blom, Eric. Mozart’s Letters. Great Britain: Western Printing Services Ltd. 1956, Print.
Grove, George. The Musical Times Volume 47. United Kingdom: Musical Times Publications Ltd. 1906, Print.
Dr. Lorenz, Michael. Mozart’s Apartment on the Alsergrund. Last updated September 30, 2011. Website.
Sadie, Stanley. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Essays on his Life and his Music. United States: Oxford University Press. 1996, Print.
Zaslaw, Neal. Mozart’s Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Recteption. United States: Oxford University Press. 1989, Print.
...eview Dance Board. (2010, February 13). Mark Morris on Mozart. Retrieved February 28, 2010, from The Harvard Art Review: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~harvardartreview/wordpress/2010/02/24/mark-morris-on-mozart-2/
Mozart’s use of melodic contour and repetitive rhythmic motives make this piece feel very connected throughout. He begins with a two eighth note followed by two quarter note pattern. This pattern is repeated twice more until finally at measure four a new melodic and rhythmic motive is introduced. At measure four a retardation occurs using a half note to delay the resolution to the quarter note, drawing out the resolution as much as possible to create a sense of relief upon arrival. This pattern of three measures of motive “A” followed by...
TitleAuthor/ EditorPublisherDate James Galways’ Music in TimeWilliam MannMichael Beazley Publishers1982 The Concise Oxford History of MusicGerald AbrahamOxford University Press1979 Music in Western CivilizationPaul Henry LangW. W. Norton and Company1941 The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Classical MusicRobert AinsleyCarlton Books Limited1995 The Cambridge Music GuideStanley SadieCambridge University Press1985 School text: Western European Orchestral MusicMary AllenHamilton Girls’ High School1999 History of MusicRoy BennettCambridge University Press1982 Classical Music for DummiesDavid PogueIDG Books Worldwide,Inc1997
Hurwitz, David, and Dmitriĭ Dmitrievich Shostakovich. Shostakovich symphonies and concertos: an owner's manual. Pompton Plains, N.J.: Amadeus ;, 2006. Print.
...n do now is to die. And so he does. Although Mozart does suffer loss, the loss of his life and career, and is somewhat responsible for his downfall, he does not evoke sympathy or recognition. However, it is Salieri who contains all four elements of a tragic hero. Salieri loses practically everything he has faith in before Mozart appears. He suffers from the loss of dignity, esteem, and honor. Salieri also recognizes something he has never felt before, that is the “pain as I had never know it,'; (1,5), the pain from the beauty and delight of Mozart’s music. Thus, recognizing the limitations of his own talent, the mediocrity of his talent compared to the genius works of Mozart. He grows an awareness of disharmony in the universe that he has never encountered. Salieri clearly is culpable of his own tragedy. He is the Court Composer, his works are respected throughout Europe, and because he is not stupid, he does not say he is the better composer. Instead, he is the minority who actually appreciates Mozart’s music. There is definitely sympathy for Salieri, in that all human beings can work as hard as they want to at something and can still fail miserably.
Mozart was born to Leopold and Maria Pertl Mozart. Mozart’s father, Leopold, was a composer, violinist, and assistant concert master in the Salzburg court. Due to the fact that his father was deeply involved in music, Mozart was influenced at very young age. Mozart had begun learning how to play the piano as early as the age of three. Under his father’s advisement, Mozart and his sister,
These two men are known as two of the greatest composers of all time. They were both child prodigies. They had completely different childhoods, but were a lot alike at the same time. I have compared and contrasted their music. I have told you of the time periods they lived in. I have also told of their musical styles, other famous composers and the purpose of Mozart and Beethoven’s music. These two musical geniuses will never be
A pint-sized, cheerful, and powerful Filipino woman who lives on the east coast named Casmelyn took me under her wing. She was, up until that point, one of the most captivating people and musicians I had ever met. The first piece she gave me was Mozart’s “Fantasy in D Minor”, and immediately, I knew was not like your standard Mozart sounding piece. No, it was very romantic, and Beethoven-like. It was moving, mournful, and dramatic with three very long runs, two contrasting sections, and flashy dynamics. She nearly shattered my idea of Mozart being boring.
Cliff Eisen, et al., "Mozart," Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online (Oxford University Press), accessed December 15, 2012, http://www.oxfor...
Historical. This brilliant composition is considered as one of the two most important violin concertos of the German Romantic period, with Mendelssohn’s vi...
Franz Joseph Haydn is widely imitated because of his excellent technique that makes his music, so rich in quality and quantity by having one of the most fertile musical minds. Haydn is one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is also known as one of the pivotal figures in all western musical history. Here I will try to showcase and highlight some of Haydn’s brilliance by talking about the life he lead growing up, his work and career, a little introduction to his music, touching on some of his compositions, his contributions to music, and finally Haydn’s influence.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most well-known composer of all time. Countless accounts of his life have been created through the years, and all of them approach the topic of his life with a slightly different perspective. Amadeus provides a humorous and insightful look into the life of Mozart through the flashbacks of an elderly Italian man named Salieri. In his old age, Salieri confesses to a priest that he felt God taunting him throughout life because he always had a profound appreciation for Mozart’s music, but yet could never produce anything like it. Therefore, he turned bitter and spent his life trying to ruin Mozart and his career. Through Salieri’s lense, the audience learns about Mozart’s unique personality. Mozart is shown in the movie as a musical prodigy with an impeccable ability to play and compose. However, Mozart also has a childish, socially awkward side that causes him to be misunderstood by many adults. He lacks practicality and appreciation for social graces, instead preferring to make inappropriate jokes and attend wild parties. Our class’s textbook, The Enjoyment of Music, also
The Classical Period brought forward new musical innovation. The sudden change in emotion and contrast in the music from the classical era is one of the many fascinating topics. However, the topic most talked about to this very day is Mozart’s Requiem. The mystery of which parts were composed by Mozart puzzles many. Even the rumor that surrounds Mozart’s cause of death is fascinating. Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, added more controversy to this intriguing mystery.
Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. His father was Leopold Mozart, a composer and a popular violinist. Mozart received his early musical training from his father. At the early age of 3 Mozart showed signs of being a musical genius. Then, at the age of five Mozart started composing. Beginning in 1762 Mozart’s father took young Mozart and his older sister, Maria Anna, on tours in Europe where they played the piano, harpsichord, violin, and organ, together and separately. Mozart learned to play the piano, harpsichord, and violin from his father. He gave public concerts and played at numerous courts and received several commissions.
The 1984 film Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman, told the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart story in such a way that an individual watching more than likely would have never imagined such a brilliant musician’s life having been the way it was portrayed in the film. When many people think of Mozart today, the thought of his skill to compose musical masterpieces is probably the first of many things to come to mind – his work speaks for itself; Mozart’s operas and symphonies are beautiful, so comparing it to the eighteenth century Classical era, Mozart’s work had to have been much loved and appreciated, right? Well, according to Amadeus, this was not necessarily the case.