Symphony No. 15 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 15 in G major, K
. 124 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, was written in Salzburg during the first weeks of 1772
. A note on the autograph manuscript indicates that it might have been written for a religious occasion, possibly in honour of the new Archbishop of Salzburg. The work is in four movements, the first of which has been described as innovative and "daring", in view of its variations of tempo. The last movement is characterised by good humour and frivolity, with "enough ending jokes to bring the house down".
, 2 oboe
s, 2 horns
, bassoon
, continuo
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
. 124 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, was written in Salzburg during the first weeks of 1772
1772 in music
-Events:*Carl Stamitz is resident composer at Versailles.*Dr Charles Burney visits Johann Baptist Vanhal at Vienna.*Ignaz Pleyel becomes a pupil of Joseph Haydn.-Opera:*Pasquale Anfossi – Alessandro nelle Indie...
. A note on the autograph manuscript indicates that it might have been written for a religious occasion, possibly in honour of the new Archbishop of Salzburg. The work is in four movements, the first of which has been described as innovative and "daring", in view of its variations of tempo. The last movement is characterised by good humour and frivolity, with "enough ending jokes to bring the house down".
Movements and instrumentation
The instrumentation was: stringsString section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 horns
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, continuo
- Allegro, 3/4
- Andante, C majorC majorC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
, 2/4 - Menuetto and TrioMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
, trio in D majorD majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
, 3/4 - Presto, 2/4
Performance details
There are no details available as to when the initial performance took place.Sources
- Dearling, Robert: The Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Symphonies Associated University Presses Ltd, London 1982 ISBN 0-8386-2335-2
- Kenyon, NicholasNicholas KenyonSir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms 1996-2007 following which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, Europe's largest multi-arts centre.-Education and career:After attending St Bede's...
: The Pegasus Pocket Guide to Mozart Pegasus Books, New York 2006 ISBN 1-933648-23-6 - Zaslaw, NealNeal ZaslawNeal Zaslaw is an American musicologist.Born in New York, Zaslaw graduated from Harvard in 1961 with a BA and obtained his master's from Juilliard in 1963. He played flute in the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski from 1962 to 1965. In 1970 he received his Ph.D from Columbia...
:Mozart's Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception OUP, Oxford 1991 ISBN 0-19-816286-3