Symphony No. 1 (Mozart)

Symphony No. 1
by W. A. Mozart
1763 portrait of Mozart at age seven, painted before he composed the symphony
KeyE♭ major
CatalogueK. 16
ComposedAugust/September 1764, London
Published1879, Leipzig
PublisherBreitkopf & Härtel
Durationc. 12 minutes
Movements3
ScoringOrchestra
Premiere
Date21 February 1765
LocationTheatre Royal Haymarket, London
ConductorWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The Symphony No. 1 in E♭ major, K. 16, is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first ever symphony, written in August or September 1764 at the age of only eight.[1] By this time, he was already notable in Europe as a child prodigy (Wunderkind)[2] but had composed little music.

The autograph manuscript of the symphony is today preserved in the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków, Poland.[1]

A typical performance lasts about 12 minutes.[3]

Background

The symphony was written on the Mozart family's Grand Tour of Europe in London when they had to move to Chelsea during the summer of 1764, when Leopold caught a cold on the way home one night, with a severe throat infection.[1][4][5] The house at 180 Ebury Street, now in the borough of Westminster, where this symphony was written, is marked with a plaque.

Commemorating plaque at 180 Ebury Street, in Belgravia

Leopold was gravely ill and for his recovery demanded total silence with absolutely no noise to be made anywhere in the house, not even music. He forbade anyone from touching the keyboard, according to a recall by Nannerl made in her later years, so Mozart occupied himself by composing the symphony silently in his mind.[5]

The symphony was first performed on 21 February 1765 at the Little Theatre, Haymarket, directed by Mozart himself, in a concert given by him and Nannerl.[5] It shows the influence of several composers, including his father and the sons of J. S. Bach, especially Johann Christian, an important early symphonist working in London whom Mozart had met during his time there.[6]

Music

The symphony is scored for two oboes, two horns in E♭, strings.[7]

The work is in three movements:

  1. Molto allegro, common time
  2. Andante, C minor, 2
    4
  3. Presto, 3
    8

I. Molto allegro

The first movement opens with an exuberant unison fanfare; it is then answered quietly by a gentler accompanied passage accompanied by the basso continuo. The contrast between loud and soft passages here provides the movement's principal character.

\relative c'' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"string ensemble 1" \key es \major \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 2 = 84 es2\f g | \repeat unfold 8 { bes8 } | g4 es r2 | bes1\p | as | as | g | g | }

In his book on the piano concertos, Cuthbert Girdlestone pointed out the similarity between the opening of this symphony and that of the Piano Concerto No. 22, K. 482, composed some twenty years later.[8]

II. Andante

\header { tagline = ##f } \paper { paper-width = 280\mm } \layout { indent = 0\cm ragged-last = ##t \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } \context { \Voice \remove "Dynamic_engraver" } } global = { \key c \minor \time 2/4 } oboe = \relative c'' { \global es2_\markup { \musicglyph #"p" }\p | f | f | es | d | es4} oboeII = \relative c'' { \global g2 | as | b | c~ | c4. b8 | c4 } corno = \relative c'' { \time 2/4 \transposition es <e c>2\fff | <f d> | <d e,> | <c e,> | r4 <e e,> | <e e,> r8 g, | \break c2 | <d c> | <f g,> | <e g,> | } violin = \relative c''' { \global \repeat unfold 2 { \tuplet 3/2 { <g es>16-.\p [q-. q-.] } } \omit TupletNumber \repeat unfold 2 { \tuplet 3/2 { q-. [q-. q-.] } } \repeat unfold 4 { \tuplet 3/2 { <as f>16-. [q-. q-.] } } \repeat unfold 4 { \tuplet 3/2 { <f d>16-. [q-. q-.] } } \repeat unfold 4 { \tuplet 3/2 { <es c>16-. [q-. q-.] } } \repeat unfold 3 { \tuplet 3/2 { <d c>16-. [q-. q-.] } } \tuplet 3/2 { <d b> q q } | \tuplet 3/2 { <c as> [<c g es> q] } \tuplet 3/2 { <c g es> q q } } cello = \relative c { \global r8 c16-!\f d-! es-! f-! g8-! | r f16-! g-! as-! g-! f8-! | r8 g,16-! a-! b-! c-! d8-! | r c16-! d-! es-! d-! c8-! | r8 f16 (fis g8) g,-! | \omit TupletNumber \repeat unfold 2 { \tuplet 3/2 { c16-! [c-! c-!] } } c8 r | r es16-! f-! g-! f-! es8-! | r8 as16-! bes-! c-! bes-! as8-! | r8 bes,16-! c-! d-! c-! bes8-! | r8 es16-! f-! g-! f-! es8-! | } oboePart = \new Staff \with { instrumentName = "Ob." midiInstrument = "oboe" } << \oboe \\ \oboeII >> celloPart = \new Staff \with { instrumentName = "Vc." shortInstrumentName = "Vc." midiInstrument = "cello" } { \clef bass \cello } \score { \new StaffGroup << \oboePart \new Staff \with { instrumentName = "Cor." shortInstrumentName = "Cor." midiInstrument = "french horn" } \corno \new Staff \with { instrumentName = "Vl." midiInstrument = "string ensemble 1" } \violin \celloPart >> \layout { } \midi { \tempo 4 = 45 } }

In the second movement, bars 7ff, Mozart uses the four note motif C–D–F–E which appeared in several of his later works, including his symphonies 33 and 41 "Jupiter", specifically the fourth movement of the latter.[9] The horns play this theme above a slow, heavy bass line which likely reflects his concern for his father's severe illness.[7] Marc Rochester suggests that shivering strings remind listeners of the cold English winter weather under which the symphony was composed.[7]

III. Presto

The exuberant brief closing movement of the symphony, dominated by the horns and violins, according to Rochester, reflects the young Mozart's inability to stay serious for long.[7] The strings play a brief unison figure exploring chromaticism, which audiences at the time found questionable.[5]

\relative c' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"string ensemble 1" \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \key es \major \time 3/8 \tempo 4 = 132 es8\f g bes bes, bes16 c d bes es8 g bes bes,4. aes''4. g f8 aes16 g f ees d ees f d bes8 }

Discography

First page of the autograph manuscript
Year Conductor Orchestra Label
1973 Neville Marriner Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Philips Classics
1991 Charles Mackerras Prague Chamber Orchestra Telarc
1992 James Levine Vienna Philharmonic Deutsche Grammophon
1995 Nicholas Ward Northern Chamber Orchestra Naxos
2005 Klaus Tennstedt Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Profil Medien
2013 Ádám Fischer Danish National Chamber Orchestra Dacapo Records
2018 Ian Page The Mozartists Signum Records
2024 Luca Bertazzi Chamber orchestra of the Conservatory of Music "Lucio Campiani", Mantua Conservatory of Music "Lucio Campiani", Mantua

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (2005). Die Sinfonien I. Translated by Robinson, J. Branford. Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag. p. IX. ISMN M-006-20466-3
  2. ↑ "14 of the Most Extraordinary Child Prodigies in History" by Rosie Pentreath, Australian Chamber Orchestra
  3. ↑ Michael Rodman. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 1 in E-flat major, K. 16 at AllMusic
  4. ↑ Sadie, Stanley, Mozart: The Early Years 1756–1781, pp. 64–65, Oxford University (2006), ISBN 978-0-19-816529-3
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Symphony No 1 in E-flat major, K. 16 (Mozart)". Hyperion Records. SIGCD201. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Manning, Stephanie. "A Guide to Mozart's Symphonies". Carnegie Hall. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Rochester, Marc (19 April 2019). "JAAP: Mozart" (PDF). www.hkphil.org. Archived from the original on 21 May 2026. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Girdlestone, C. M. (1948) Mozart's Piano Concertos, p. 346, London, Cassell.
  9. ↑ "Fall Concert 2011". Kamuela Philharmonic Orchestra. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
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