Symphony No.29 in A major K.201

Minuetto

Allegro con spirito

Although Mozart was born twenty-four years later than Haydn, he too came into contact with the Sturm und Drang movement at a formative period in his development - perhaps on a visit to Vienna in 1773 when he no doubt made himself familiar with the latest developments, not least the most recent symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Certainly, it was shortly after his return to Salzburg that he wrote his dramatically inspired “little” G minor Symphony, K.183. The next work in the series, completed six months later in 1774, achieves a more even emotional balance however.

Symphony No.29 in A major, K.201, is not an undramatic concept but nor is it as consistently subject to the pressures of Sturm und Drang as its predecessor in G minor. The repeated notes of the opening theme of the Allegro moderato suggest a certain urgency, quietly articulated though they are at first, and the sudden dynamic contrasts increase the tension. The second subject, on the other hand, is graciousness itself. Urgency is restored in the development, again by means of dynamic contrasts and also through vigorous contrapuntal activity in the lower strings and loud syncopations in the violins. But the most striking aspect of the first movement (which it shares with its counterparts in both Symphony No.25 in G minor and Symphony No.28 in C major) is its extended and highly effective coda.

Mozart makes a similarly special feature of the coda in the Andante. Having muted the violins throughout the sociable exchanges of uncontroversial material between strings and wind, in the very last bars he instructs them to remove their mutes to secure an unexpectedly emphatic ending. The formal structure of the Minuetto, unusually animated though it is in the outer sections, precludes an extended coda. There is another cleverly calculated end-game, however, in the final Allegro con spirito. Brilliant from the start in its scoring for violins and surprisingly competitive in the development section, it concludes with an exuberantly liberated celebration of its virtuoso main theme.

Minuetto

Allegro con spirito

In July 1773 Mozart left Salzburg with his father to spend two or three months in Vienna. Although his visit to the capital failed in its main objective, which was presumably to secure a post in the Imperial court, it was a valuable opportunity to catch up with the latest musical developments, not least the recent symphonies of Joseph Haydn. Certainly, the first three symphonies Mozart wrote after his return to Salzburg - Nos. 25 G minor K183, 29 in A major K.201 and 28 in C major K.200 (probably in that order) - register a marked advance on anything he had achieved in this line before. While the dramatically orientated G minor stands out from the others in that it seems to have been inspired by Haydn’s Symphony No.39 in the same key, all three of them share a feature that suggests another, unattributable though equally significant influence on the young composer.

Symphony No.29 in A major is less stressful than its predecessor in G minor but it is a by no means undramatic concept. The repeated notes of the opening theme of the Allegro moderato suggest a certain urgency, quietly articulated though they are at first, and the sudden dynamic contrasts increase the tension. The second subject, on the other hand, is graciousness itself. Urgency is restored in the development, again by means of dynamic contrasts but also through energetic contrapuntal activity in the lower strings and vigorous syncopations in the violins. But the most striking aspect of the first movement - the one it shares with its counterparts in the symphonies in G minor and C major - is its extended and highly effective coda.

Mozart makes a similarly special feature of the coda in the Andante. Having muted the violins throughout the sociable exchanges of uncontroversial material between strings and wind, in the very last bars he instructs them to remove their mutes to secure an unexpectedly emphatic ending. The formal structure of the Minuetto, unusually animated though it is in the outer sections, precludes an extended coda. There is another cleverly calculated end-game, however, in the final Allegro con spirito. Brilliant from the start in its scoring for violins and surprisingly competitive in the development section, it concludes with an exuberantly liberated celebration of its virtuoso main theme.