Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is known as a wunderkind of music as he showed his talents from his childhood. He was a keyboard and string virtuoso. He composed many symphonies, concertos and operas which are famous and he was an influential composer in the Classical Period. ‘Great Violin Concertos: Benjamin Schmid Plays Mozart’ was performed by the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the violin soloist Benjamin Schmid. This programme included two violin concertos composed by Mozart and two twenty centuries folk suites from Eastern Europe. In the following, I would like to compare and contrast the two Mozart’s violin concertos, Violin Concerto No 2 in D and Violin Concerto No 5 in A, in terms of instrumentation, tempo and rhythm, key.
Both the Violin Concerto
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However, the tempo is not identical in both works. Violin Concerto No 2 in D has the tempo headings Allegro moderato, Andante and Rondeau: Allegro while the tempo headings of Violin Concerto No 5 in A are Allegro aperto, Adagio and Rondeau: Tempo di Menuetto. In the first movement, both work provide a light and relax feeling to audience. In the second movement, the tempo of Violin Concerto No 5 is slower than that of the Violin Concerto No 2. Violin Concerto No 5 gives a clam, softer and smoother impression compared with the other movements. Violin Concerto No 2 continued the lively rhythm in the first movement with a gentler atmosphere. Both works used the Rondo form for the third movement. While both works returned to a faster tempo, Violin Concerto No 5 has a dance-like rhythm in movement III which is different from the Violin Concerto No 2. As Mozart composed these two concertos in the same year, the style of tempo and rhythm of these two works is quite similar. This can be easily seen by comparing the two …show more content…
According to the programme notes, Mozart seldom used the major key with many sharps. However, he used A major in the first movement of the Violin Concerto No 5. This key gives audience a joyful atmosphere. And this also matches the tempo handing of this movement, Allegro aperto, which means ‘openhearted’. In both works, Mozart changed the key in the second movement. For the Violin Concerto No 2, the key changed from D major to E minor. This key contributed to the lyrical music in this movement. And for the Violin Concerto No 5, the key changed to E major, which is one more sharp than Movement I. In the final movement of both works, the parallel minors of the major keys in Movement I are included. Violin Concerto No 2 adopted D minor in the cadenza while Violin Concerto No 5 introduced the A minor Hungarian Country Dance in Movement III. Eventually, both works returned to the original
This movement was also in complete sonata form, like the first, but started out with a fugue, containing timpani solos and then later concluded with an abrupt
5 the 4th movement. Beethoven’s innovation of bigger orchestra’s was a game changer in the Classical Era and he definitely deserves to be ranked as a “Maverick of Sound.” This piece is rumored to be an autobiographical tale of Beethoven losing his hearing and was done in the period’s traditional sonata form. This piece beautifully evoked the mood of what I imagined as Beethoven’s dilemma of “fate knocking at the door.” Everything in this composition is built around the four opening notes. The tempo allegro was brisk and lively. The exposition set the tone with string instruments followed by the entire orchestra repeating in a march-like character. The bridge was similar in mood to the opening and was announced by horns. The recapitulation led to a long coda that punctuated the ending which built to an exciting climax accentuated by a dynamic fortissimo resolution to the frenzied tension. This joyful finale was great fun to listen to and a most excellent way to end the
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.
A sinfonia (Italian for symphony) broadly refers to a number of instrumental works from the Baroque period, including symphonies, sonatas, canzonas, concerti, and Italian opera overtures. Even J.S. Bach titles his “three-part” inventions for harpsichord “Sinfonia”. Torelli’s Sinfonia in D (G.8) is a four-movement “concerto” for trumpet, strings and harpsichord continuo. Unlike a concerto grosso, where a main theme is presented and then reappears in fragments, the main themes of Sinfonia in D are developed rather freely. The second movement (Adagio) is a very short, slow, interlude without trumpet that introduces the third movement (Allegro). Hence, the program shows these two movements as “adagio-allegro” joined together.
Mozart is one of the few composers who wrote music for the clarinet during the classical period. His clarinet concerto, is extremely popular which is still widely performed nowadays. Yet, there is much confusion about the interpretation of the music. Therefore, in this essay, the issue of tempo and ornamentations are going to be discussed.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, also known as W.A. Mozart, was a very well-known composer of the Classical Period as well as still to this day. Wolfgang Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. He was known for his sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber music, concertos, and operas. He set the standards high for all composers following in his footsteps.
One main difference that can be noticed when listening to both of the symphonies is the different instruments being used. For example, in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, there are numerous instruments being used. These include: a piccolo, flutes, clarinets, bassoons, contrabassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, timpani, and strings. Although the symphonies may share some of the same instruments, Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 does not include as many instruments. While Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 has ten various instruments in it, Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 only has seven different instruments. These instruments used in Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 are: flutes, oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, and also strings. Because they share some different instruments, the music sounds different and gives each symphony its own individual style. These symphonies may include some of the same instruments, however, they both have a unique sound. In Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the opening note has a very loud tone. This opening note has a suspense or intimidating tone. Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 has a more relaxing
Before actually going into the analysis of the actual piece itself, background information would be helpful. The composition was written by Bach, and it is part of the sonatas and partitas for solo violin. For this example, Partita II in d minor, movement I, Allemanda, will be discussed. Allemanda, sometimes spelled allemande, derives from German and simply means “dance.” While there are various tempos used, this movement is usually fast, around 120 beats per minute.
Concerto in F is a classical music. Concerto in F is like then the piano solo and orchestra is closer in form to the traditional concerto. The concerto in F has strong thematic links between the three movements (Huscher, 2014).
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, composed by the legendary Ludwig van Beethoven, is one of the most famous orchestral musical compositions done by the German-born composer. The symphony is broken down into four movements. The symphony has such a profound effect on so many people because of its use drama by introducing sudden and powerful chords which quickly grabs the audience’s attention as well as creating a variety of musical ideas through his use of excitement by way of fast and slow tempos. The first movement, Allegro con brio, which utilizes the Sonata form, contains an opening sequence or Exposition, which initially compels my attention during its first 6 seconds due to its powerful entry and introduction of the basic four-note motive (short-short-short-long) of the piece. The quick repetition in a lower step using strings in unison keeps me engaged due to its energy, as it sort of
This piano concerto adheres to the tradition way of composing a piece in this genre as it consists of three movements:
His compositions are considered to have led to the development of the sonata form. This was still evident late in his career. Piano Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major (Hob. XVI:52) consists of short, balanced melodic phrases of two, four or sometimes six bars. Each melody in the exposition is evenly divided into an antecedent phrase and a consequent phrase; question and answer. This is a typical characteristic of the Classical Period which obsessed over clarity of structure. Similarly, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor Op. 2, No.1 is clearly divided into an exposition, development and recapitulation. Its lucid exposition of melodic material occurs in balanced melodic phrases. Both of these works contain short codas to each section. The fact that Beethoven’s sonata was written one year after Haydn’s, whilst he was still a student of Haydn’s, highlights the influence of Haydn over Beethoven during the early stage of his
Symphony No. 6 is one of Beethoven's few programmatic works and describes a county scene. It is titled "Recollections of country life". It has 5 movements, unusual for a classical symphony. The first movement is in sonata form and is titled "Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arrival in the country". It has two beautiful rustic themes. The second movement is titled "Scene at the brook" and depicts a bubbling stream on a calm day. It is also in sonata form with two flowing themes. The third movement is a scherzo and depicts a country dance being titled "Happy gathering of country folk". It is an unusual scherzo with the scherzo section played only once before continuing to the trio. After the trio, instead of returning to the scherzo, a short section in 2/4 time interrupts. Then the scherzo is played followed by the trio again. The 2/4 section appears a second time, followed by the scherzo one last time. The dancing in the third movement is interrupted by raindrops ushering in the fourth movement, titled "Thunderstorm".
And a musical genius Mozart was indeed! As I analyzed this piece, I was continually struck by his following of major voice leading and counterpoint rules. The times Mozart did break away from the standard were masterfully done, engaging to the ear, and he was always able to bring us back home. In this paper I will share with you what I learned about Mozart’s Requiem, Domine Jesu measures 1 through 43. I will start with the big picture and whittle it down to the minute details.
Conclusively, while being one of his earliest works, Mozart’s Minuet in F Major (K.2) is far from primitive. His use of repetition and subtle melodic and rhythmic variations keep the melody interesting enough to retain the listener’s attention. Not only this, but the harmonic surprises of the modulation and deceptive cadence keep the listener guessing in the best way possible. While at the surface this work may seem like nothing more than an AABA 32-bar dance, there is much more than that hidden throughout the work. If this is what Mozart was capable of at the mere age of six, it is unsurprising that his legacy remains to this day.