Classical Music - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Symphony No.29, KV 201

Key: A Major
Dedication:
Orch: 2 Ob. / 2 Hrn. / Str.
Approx.: 22 Min.
Composed:
Autograph:

Further Information

For a man who lived in the time of the horse and carriage, Mozart was unusually well-traveled. Born in Salzburg on the border of Austria and Germany, he moved beyond those provincial origins to visit virtually all the great cities of Europe, concertizing in London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Prague, Amsterdam, Rome, Turin, Venice, and Milan. For most of those cities, Mozart had kind observations concerning the musical establishments, yet no city stood higher in his regard than Vienna, the political and cultural capital of the Austrian Empire. Vienna's Habsburg rulers, particularly Emperor Joseph II, fostered an environment in which the arts could thrive and flourish, an environment that became a Mecca for the finest composers from all over Europe. Mozart, too, dreamed of earning for himself a prestigious position in this most musical city. In the summer of 1773, fresh on the heels of a triumphal Italian tour, Wolfgang and his father Leopold embarked upon a three-month sojourn in Vienna with the highest of hopes for their futures.
The journey was not without its successes. Wolfgang, though better known as a keyboardist, demonstrated another facet of his talent by performing a violin concerto in concert, and Leopold conducted one of his son's masses at the Jesuit church. Father and son made the acquaintance of Court Kapellmeister Giuseppe Bonno and other influential figures, whom they hoped might help them in their efforts to obtain lucrative employment. However, no permanent position was forthcoming. Even an audience with Empress Maria Theresa was unproductive, for though the Mozarts didn't know it, the empress counseled her son, the Archduke Ferdinand, against hiring either applicant, whom she haughtily dismissed as "useless people." By October, the Mozarts were back in Salzburg, reluctantly settling back into their accustomed, but no longer satisfactory, positions.
Although the excursion had not resulted in even a single job offer, it was not without its impact, for during his weeks in the imperial capital, the younger Mozart became thoroughly acquainted with the Viennese style of composition, which was more ambitious than that preferred in Italy. His works, which in recent years had begun to sound markedly Italian, now took on a greater intensity, using grander orchestration and more elaborate techniques of construction that would characterize Mozart's music to the end of his days. Vienna, it seems, stimulated the young composer to evolve a more sophisticated style that is evident in his Symphony no. 29, completed April 6, 1774. Written, according to the Viennese preference, in four movements, the symphony is scored for a standard complement of strings, along with pairs of oboes and horns. Although the instrumentation breaks no boundaries, there are yet innovations to be found in the broad variety of moods and musical effects. Here, Mozart begins to hint at the marvelous diversity the will characterize his later works.

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