Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Youth Symphonies –Vol.3
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
conducted by:
Sir Neville Marriner

PTC 5186 138

DSD remastered

EARLY SYMPHONIES VOL. 3

Although the Köchel index contains 41 symphonies penned by Mozart, this group of works does not take centre stage within his oeuvre as is the case with Joseph Haydn, for example. As a rule, in Mozart’s day the symphony was by no means the focal point during a concert. Rather, its purpose was to provide an orchestral setting for celebrated soloists, whose virtuoso playing demanded an adequate framework. Whereas we cannot imagine the present-day concert repertoire without Mozart’s late symphonic works, recordings of his earlier symphonies – of which the works included on this CD are an example – are unfortunately in scant supply. Of course, they cannot compete with his later masterpieces as far as individuality and character are concerned; after all, the symphony in the middle of the 18th century was considered to be a musical lightweight. However, not only do Mozart’s early symphonies give a fascinating demonstration of his analysis of the examples at hand – works by Johann Christian Bach, Johann Stamitz, and Johann Christoph Wagenseil, among others – they also witness his first steps towards an independent symphonic style.
He wrote his Symphonies K. 45 and K. 48 during a journey to Vienna in 1767-68, which took up best part of a year. The most striking novelty in both works is the expansion of the symphony into a four-movement work by means of the insertion of a minuet. One reason for this, certainly, was the progress made in Vienna in the development of the genre: its cyclical character and the shaping of the individual movement were now more clearly emphasized and distinctive, and greater significance was given to the structuring of the first movement especially. Mozart took these developments into consideration in both the “Viennese” symphonies on this recording – in his Symphony K. 45, by expanding the size of the orchestra; and in his K. 48, by providing the first movement with a denser structure and an original beginning.
On the manuscript of his Symphony in D, K. 45, Mozart jotted down “16 Jener” (= January 16), which means that the work may have been written shortly after his side trip to Olmütz. It probably received its première in March 1768. The work became known principally in its revised version as the overture to his opera La finta semplice, which was then again used to create an independent symphony. The composer made numerous alterations to the instrumentation, added phrasing and dynamic indications, and even changed the measure in the Andante.
Mozart wrote the second “Viennese” symphony included in this recording on December 13, 1768, on the eve of his departure from Vienna, almost a year after his Symphony K. 45. His Symphony K. 48 is also composed in the festive key of D major, and apart from the “standard winds”, it is the first to call on trumpets and kettledrums. The first theme sounds almost theatrical due to the large intervals employed, which are played alternately piano and forte. For the first time, Mozart has written here a recapitulation which completely reviews the musical line of thought developed in the exposition. The simple two-part Andante develops highly varying melodies. In the Minuet (but not in the Trio), Mozart again uses trumpets and kettledrums, before the Finale produces a rather more pleasurable conclusion to the symphony with triplets in the strings.
Until recently, it was believed that Mozart wrote his Symphony in C,
K. 73 in 1769. However, the latest research speaks of early summer 1772, which means that the symphony would have been written at around the same time as his K. 132, and that both works would be ranked among his so-called “Salzburg” Symphonies. In this respect, his Symphony K. 73 holds a dignified position among these works, as it is not clearly limited to and based on a particular model – i.e. the Italian overture or the German Konzertsymphonie (= symphonie concertante). Italian influence is audible, alongside that of Haydn.
After the relative lack of determination of K. 73, Mozart’s idiom changes unambiguously in his Symphony in E flat for 2 Oboes, 4 Horns and Strings, K. 132, becoming highly individual. In this work, Mozart found his distinctive symphonic idiom. The recording offers both alternatives designated by Mozart for the slow movement: an Andante with great intensity of expression, as well as an Andantino grazioso, in which a cantilena is shared in a dialogue between violins, oboes and the rest of the orchestra. In the Minuet, the broken triads are employed in an imitative manner, followed by a Trio in C minor, written just for the strings. The Finale is a full-bodied Rondo.

“While Mozart's early symphonies are overshadowed by his mature achievements, particularly the three great Symphonies 39-41 of 1788, they possess considerable charm and perfection of form. And they give an exciting glimpse of a genre that was ready to take off from its modest origin as a concert-filler. Neville Marriner and the members of the Academy of St. Martin's thought enough of them when they recorded them in Brent Town Hall, Wembley, London in September 1973 to give some of their very best performances on record (and that's saying a lot).”
Dr. Phil Muse, Atlanta Audio Society