Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart was another prominent composer working during the latter part of the 18th-century.
Though younger than Haydn, people actually became accustomed to his name
earlier because he toured as a child prodigy along with his father and sister.
While Mozart’s
early symphonies followed the early-classical model containing a three-movement
structure, his later symphonies fell into the four-movement format. Mozart’s
compositional style stretched performers by creating ambitious parts for (now
common) wind sections. Sometimes, he would even tag on a slow introduction to
the opening fast movement. These introductions are typically written in the
style of a French overture and may create suspense for audiences who have no
idea what Mozart intends next. Mozart’s orchestra size was similar to that of
Haydn, much smaller in number than what we are used to seeing in concert halls
today.
As mentioned
during our 21 Days of Bach this past March, Mozart was also known to combine
his classical-era style with idioms from the Baroque period. His Symphony No.
41 “Jupiter,” for instance, draws on the Baroque fugue in its final movement.
Mozart’s “Prague”
Symphony will be tonight’s 6 o’clock symphony. Written for a concert in that
city, it is certainly one of Mozart’s great works that exhibits the symphonic
style of the late classical era. How does it compare with the Haydn symphony
you heard on Tuesday?
