Sounding Together #15: W.A. Mozart, Symphony #36 in C major, ”Linz” (1783)
Upon returning to Vienna from an uncomfortable visit with his father and sister, Mozart and his new wife Constanze passed through the town of Linz, where of course, they wanted a symphony from the famous composer. Not having “packed a symphony” for the trip, Mozart just wrote one in the four days before the concert. Because sure, why not?
And yet in spite of its haste, the “Linz” symphony is no formulaic throwaway piece. Indeed, it is considered to be among some of the best of Mozart’s symphonic output. Mozart wrote in about every conceivable musical genre, and one of the things that is remarkable about Mozart is that he mastered each of them. Many composers have at least one musical genre where they are not as proficient at composing, but not Mozart. Operas, chamber music, concertos, solos . . . all of it was masterful. Still, Mozart was, in many ways, a relatively late bloomer when it comes to the symphony. Though he wrote some of the best examples of the form, most of them come from his later years, with the last six being the most noteworthy, and the first twenty or so barely mentioned. Mozart was, at this point, essentially working freelance, taking commissions where he could get them, so he had a certain amount of freedom in what he could write. But at the same time, classical music came with certain expectations, and as we’ve seen previously, Mozart had to toe the line very carefully between his freedom of expression and catering to the whims of his audience.
But living and working in Vienna, the hub of musical happenings in Europe, definitely helped, and the influence of other symphonic writers--Haydn among them--is clear in his writing of this symphony. In fact, Mozart does something he had not done at this point, and begins his symphony with a slow adagio introduction, something Haydn became known for in his symphonies. The adagio gives way to the customary sonata-allegro, with a primary theme that seems to be a bit lopsided in its phrasing. In fact, throughout this whole movement, the phrasing is rather unusual, and it becomes difficult to tell when one section ends and another begins. The beginning of the second theme is a bit difficult to pinpoint. The first place that we hear a true cadence in the G major dominant is immediately followed by a chord in E minor, which is an unusual place to start a second theme. This is also a marked style change from both the first theme and last section we just heard, which supports the second theme starting here. But it may also start a few measures back, with material that will later make it into the development section. The phrasing and cadences make it difficult to say, but either way, there is a definite transition in both key and style, and a definite second theme. There is also a third theme, or possibly a very lengthy codetta, which is common for Mozart’s symphonies. All of these themes are fully developed melodies, many of which are somewhat reminiscent of opera themes he had written or would later write.
The exposition ends with a thinning and calming of the orchestra to go into the repeat, but this thin texture continues in the development section, and for about half of it, it almost sounds like a different, slower movement. The tempo hasn’t changed, but the lines are written in such a way that there’s really nothing driving the beat, so it sounds very free and calm in a way that opening fast movements usually aren’t. Unlike what was typical--having a beat drive the first movement all the way through--Mozart uses the development as a bit of a break from that, allowing some of the musicality of his writing to come through. But the beat returns for the recapitulation, which is a fairly standard retread of the earlier themes, using the same one-to-secondary-dominant-to-dominant trick he’s used in earlier symphonies. The slower lead-in from before now leads to a coda which recalls the opening material from the development section, before eventually finishing with the hammering of tonic chords that is expected of a first movement.
The second movement, also in sonata form, makes use of trumpet and timpini, which were usually left out of slow movements at this time. This makes the second movement much more dramatic in tone, still slow and lyrical, but now with something driving it forward. Just as Mozart introduced some second movement style into the first movement, so is he, here, introducing some first movement techniques into the second. Also, just like with the first movement, the phrasing structure is rather uneven, making it difficult to tell where one theme ends and another begins. There also isn’t much of a transition to speak of, and key change to dominant is brief. The first theme is a nice easy melody, with the second theme being more dramatic, bringing in more chromaticism and dynamic contrast. The development section, once again, thins out the texture and passes brief motifs between various instruments, giving the section a very free and easy feeling. There is also more of the chromaticism from before. The recapitulation creates even more drama, as the transition is not nearly so easy, with harmonic changes that eventually lead back to the tonic, occasionally plunging into some minor modes, before finally coming to a satisfying conclusion.
The third movement is a fairly standard minuet and trio. The trio makes use of a solo passage in the oboe, which is later echoed in the bassoon. Mozart seems to be enjoying the interplay between oboe and bassoon, as this is not the first time he’s used these two instruments together in this symphony. The fourth movement is another “as fast as possible” finale, and once again, plays with the phrasing in such a way to make it difficult to tell when a phrase or section is actually going to end. Telling the different sections apart is a little easier this time, though, because of clear stylistic changes between the first theme, the transition, and the second theme. The third theme delves into a minor mode, further playing with expectations, before the exposition finally ends in the dominant G. The development has more thinning of texture, more passing of solo lines, and more of the unusual phrasing and harmonic structures that Mozart has been using throughout the entirety of the symphony, but the recapitulation keeps things pretty simple for the triumphant close of the symphony.
We don’t know how the premiere in Linz went, but by all accounts the subsequent performance in Vienna went very well. This symphony shows Mozart’s growing style, providing perhaps a bit more of a musical challenge than the standard symphony, but not so much so that it’s no longer recognizable or enjoyable by the classical era audience. Mozart continues to toe the line and push the boundaries of what was acceptable, as he will continue to do for the remainder of his musical career, and his life.
