Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart was another prominent composer working during the latter part of the 18th-century.
Though younger than Haydn, people 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.
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.
Listen to Mozart’s
“Prague” Symphony here. 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 last time?
