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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Serenade No program notes WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Serenade No. 9 in D Major, K. 320 “Posthorn” (1779) • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1791. Mozart completed his “Posthorn” Serenade on August 3, 1779, in Salzburg. The nickname is derived from the appearance of a post horn in the work’s penultimate movement. The post horn, a small circular brass instrument without valves, was originally used by postilions and mail-coachmen. Scholars differ as to the specific occasion for which Mozart wrote this work. Mozart’s early biographer, Franz Peter Niemetschek, claimed that the “Posthorn” Serenade was composed to celebrate the feast day of the Salzburg Archbishop, Hieronymous Colloredo. Maynard Solomon, in his biography Mozart: A Life (HarperCollins, New York, 1995), posits that given the date of composition, the “Posthorn” Serenade was probably used for graduation ceremonies at the Salzburg University. In any event, it is clear Mozart thought very highly of this composition. On March 23, 1783, Mozart offered a triumphant concert at the Vienna Burgtheater. As he proudly described to his father, “I need not tell you very much about the success of my concert, for no doubt you have already heard of it. Suffice it to say that the theater could not have been more crowded and that every box was full.” Among the members of the audience was Emperor Joseph II of Austria. The “Posthorn” Serenade is in seven movements. Tonight’s performance represents an abridged version featuring movements I, V, VI, and VII. The first opens with a stately, slow-tempo introduction (Adagio maestoso), resolving to the principal Allegro con spirito. In the Serenade’s fifth movement (Andantino), Mozart injects haunting pathos into a work otherwise notable for its optimism and high spirits. The post horn makes its appearance in the penultimate movement, a Minuet (Menuetto). The “Posthorn” Serenade concludes with a bracing Finale (Presto). Duration: 40 minutes 13G program notes Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 (1786) • Mozart completed the score of the Concerto in A on March 2, 1786. In 1781 the 25-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left his hometown of Salzburg to stake his independence in Vienna. For a time, he enjoyed public approval and financial success commensurate with his incomparable talents. During the mid-1780s, Mozart was in great demand in Vienna as a teacher, composer, and performer. In a letter to his father, Leopold, written in February of 1784, Mozart proudly exclaimed: "The whole morning is given over to my pupils, and nearly every evening I have to play (here the composer lists 22 events from February 26 to April 3)...Have I not enough to do? I do not think I shall get out of practice in these circumstances..." In October 1785, Mozart began work on his opera The Marriage of Figaro. He was anxious to establish himself as an important composer of Italian opera buffa. He poured his energies into Figaro, which premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on May 1, 1786. Still, he found time to compose several other important works during this period, including three piano concertos – K. 482 in Eb, K. 488 in A, and K. 491 in C minor. While specific documentation of the work's premiere no longer exists, Mozart’s usual practice was to offer the first performance of a Piano Concerto shortly after its completion. There are records of Lenten concerts in Vienna held during March of 1786. It is quite possible those concerts featured the premiere of Mozart's A-major Concerto. Mozart took great pride in this Concerto, and pianists and audiences have continued to share his enthusiasm. The A-Major Concerto is an introspective work (there are no trumpets or drums) that rejects overt showmanship in favor of a restrained, and at times, heartbreaking lyricism, most notably in the central Adagio. Still, the optimistic finale perhaps reminds us that the A-Major Concerto was the product of one of the most fulfilling periods in Mozart’s all-too-brief life. The Concerto is in three movements. The first (Allegro) features the traditional double exposition of the principal themes (orchestra, followed by the soloist). There are departures from convention as well, such as basing the development section not on the principal themes, but a new melody introduced at the close of the exposition. The minor-key second movement (Adagio) anticipates Pamina’s despairing second-act aria in Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute (1791). The Concerto concludes with a spirited rondo (Allegro assai). Duration: 26 minutes 13H program notes LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Opus 21 (1800) • Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn, Germany, on December 17, 1770, and died in Vienna, Austria, on March 26, 1827. • The first performance of Symphony No. 1 took place at the Burgtheater in Vienna on April 2, 1800, with the composer conducting. Beethoven completed the first of his Nine Symphonies in 1800. This was one of the happiest periods in Beethoven’s life, a time when the young musician was dazzling Vienna with his unique and remarkable talents as a composer and piano virtuoso. Symphony No. 1 premiered on April 2, 1800, at the Burgtheater in Vienna. The concert, organized by the composer for his own benefit, also featured a Mozart symphony, an aria and duet from Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation, as well as Beethoven performing one of his Piano Concertos (either No. 1 or 2) and a keyboard improvisation. Many view Beethoven’s First Symphony as the composer’s homage to the elegant works of his Classical-era predecessors, Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Nevertheless, more than a few of his contemporaries perceived the First in a far different light. One German critic characterized it as “a caricature of Haydn pushed to absurdity.” A Parisian musician lamented the work’s “astonishing success,” which he characterized as “a danger to the musical art…It is believed that a prodigal use of the most barbarous dissonances and a noisy use of all instruments will make an effect. Alas, the ear is only stabbed; there is no appeal to the heart.” For those familiar with the path-breaking music of Beethoven’s later Symphonies, such reactions seem misplaced, if not downright odd. The Beethoven First is a work overflowing with wit and high spirits. The scoring and architecture of the Symphony reflect the 18th century tradition. Beethoven even designates the Symphony’s third movement as a “Minuet”—traditionally, an elegant court dance that appears in virtually every mature Haydn and Mozart Symphony. In 1802, Beethoven proclaimed to his friend, Wenzel Krumpholz: “I am not satisfied with my works up to the present time. From today I mean to take a new road.” In terms of the Symphonies, that “new road” is most clearly first revealed in the Third (“Eroica”), Opus 55 (1803). Nevertheless, Beethoven’s First Symphony, for all of its homage to the past, offers more than a few hints that the revolution was just around the corner. 13I program notes The Symphony opens with a slow-tempo introduction (Adagio molto). Despite its generally graceful nature, the ambiguous, shifting harmonies of the opening measures must have been unsettling to audiences of Beethoven’s time. This leads to the principal Allegro con brio, with its introduction, development, and recapitulation of the central thematic material. The slow-tempo second movement (Andante cantabile con moto) is based upon a charming melody, introduced by the second violins, soon joined by the violas and cellos. Although Beethoven designates the third movement as a Minuet (Menuetto), the music’s fleet tempo (Allegro molto e vivace) and forceful energy place it within the genre of the vibrant, energetic scherzo (the Italian word for “joke”). The finale opens with a slow-tempo introduction (Adagio), in which the violins slowly gather the courage finally to launch into the ebullient Allegro molto e vivace. A dramatic fanfare and brief pause set the stage for the First Symphony’s rousing conclusion. Duration: 26 minutes Notes on the program by Ken Meitzer. The Charlotte Symphony believes in delivering exceptional music experiences – that means in and out of the concert hall. This season, we’re expanding our already popular Winterfield Elementary free afterschool youth orchestra program to two other in-need areas of our community. Project Harmony is social transformation through music. For more information about our educational and community programs, visit charlottesymphony.org. 13J.
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