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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756 – 1791)
Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756.
From the age of four, Mozart began to study keyboard and composition from
his father.
Mozart became famous from a very young age. Following employment in
Salzburg as Konzertmeister to the archbishop, Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781
where he spent the rest of his life as a composer and performer.
Despite his relatively short life of thirty-five years, his musical output was vast
and included famous operas such as Le Nozze di Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni
(1787), Cosi fan tutte (1790) and Die Zauberflote (1791).
He produced 21 piano concertos, 5 violin concertos, 4 horn concertos,
concertos for clarinet and other wind instruments, 41 symphonies, 27 string
quartets, 6 string quintets and 17 Masses, including his last work, the incomplete
Requiem Mass of 1791.
The work was completed after his death by Franz Sussmayr, one of his pupils.
Mozart died in Vienna on 5 December 1791.
Standard Classical Orchestra
Strings
Woodwind
Brass
Percussion
Violins
Flutes (2)
Trumpets (2)
Timpani
Violas
Oboes (2)
French horns
(2)
Cellos
Clarinets (2)
Double
basses
Bassoons (2)
Background to Symphony No. 40 in G minor
• This great symphony is written in the key of G minor and the
melancholy feel of this key pervades the first movement, although
the other movements are lighter in mood.
• The work comprises the usual four movements, but what is slightly
unusual is that Mozart uses sonata form to structure the first,
second and fourth movements. The third movement is the usual
minuet and trio. Each movement is varied in terms of tempo, as
shown below.
First Movement
Second Movement
Third Movement
Fourth Movement
Fast tempo usually
written in Sonata
Form
Slow Tempo,
various forms used,
including Ternary,
Theme and
Variations
Minuet and Trio
Fast, written in
Rondo, Sonata
Form (combination
of both) or set of
variations
Bar Numbers
and timing
1–5
5 last
crotchet to 9
9 last
crotchet to
20
Analysis
First Subject (bars 1 – 20)
First point to note is there is no Introduction
Bars 1-3: repeated idea (the first three notes become an important
motif used throughout the movement) with an upward leap of a
sixth balanced by bars 3 (last crotchet)-5 a descending stepwise
pattern (two quavers/crotchet). 1st and 2nd violins playing in octaves
marked piano (rare in these days)
Violas are playing (divisi) divided in a quaver pattern and on-beat
crotchet bass notes in the basses.
This is a sequence (down one tone) of bars 1-4
Second part of theme - a repeated crotchet idea outlining chords V
(bars 10 and 12) and
chord I and Ib (bars 11 and 13 respectively).
Bars 14-16: woodwind enter playing a two-bar continuation in
octaves (no oboes).
Bars 16-20: strong repeated woodwind chords with strings playing D
octaves, which forms
a dominant pedal. Following this point of repose on chord V
(dominant) the first subject is
repeated, but modified as we start the bridge passage.
Keys Used
G minor
Bar Numbers
and timing
20 - 27
Analysis
Keys Used
Bridge Passage (bars 20 -44)
G minor
First subject repeated but altered at bars 24-27 to modulate to the
relative major (B♭).
Notice the lack of F♯s.
Oboes and bassoons provide sustained wind chords as 'harmonic
filling' to the texture.
There is a perfect cadence in the key of B♭ (bars 27-28).
B♭ Major
28-44
This is a robust forte passage in the relative major key of B♭for full
orchestra.
Horns enter for the first time at bar 28. There is a bold theme in the
violins outlining triads in
the key of B♭. For most of this passage the bassoon doubles the
string basses.
30-33
Good example of one-bar descending sequences in the violins.
34-37
38-43
Strong sforzando chords for full orchestra which leads to
Five bars of dominant pedal (F). This dominant harmony prepares
for the second subject at 44. This entry is dramatically heralded by a
one-bar rest!
Bar Numbers
and timing
Analysis
Second Subject (bars 44 – 72)
44-51
This theme in the relative major is shared between the strings and
woodwind. It is much more relaxed (notice the piano dynamics) and
reduced instrumentation. The use of semitones is a characteristic of
the graceful pathetique mood of second subject (see bars 44-5 and
48-9).
The falling figures at bars 44-45 and 48-51 help to conjure up the
mood of sighing. Chromatic descent was always used to feature grief
and sadness in music.
50-51
Perfect cadence in B♭ major followed by a one-bar link (bar 51)
before the theme is repeated.
This time the string and woodwind (without oboes) parts change
round as they play the theme.
52-58
58-66
The theme is extended by a series of one-bar sequences at bars 5861.
The harmony here is a dominant 7th chord in the key of A♭ major,
although we never reach this key as the music surges and crescendos
as the bass moves up chromatically so that we have chords lc-V7-l in
B♭ major at bars 64-66
Keys Used
B♭ major
Bar Numbers
and timing
66 - 72
Analysis
Keys Used
A new six-bar idea is heard in unison violins (see below). It is
B♭ major
made up of chromatically ascending quavers and a rhythmic
element at bars 68-69 and a scalic descent from bars 70-72.
This feature is used later in the movement and can be thought
of as a second part of the second subject. The section ends
with a perfect cadence in B♭ major (bars 71-72)
Bar Numbers
and timing
Analysis
CODETTA (bars 73-100)
Throughout
73-88
88-100
Keys Used
B♭ major
This section is based on the opening three notes of the first
subject.
The idea is passed from clarinet to bassoon. During this
passage, the upper strings (violins) have just the first two
notes of this idea in minims (doubling or more the original
note values is called augmentation) in canon with the lower
strings (violas, cellos and basses). Following a perfect
cadence in B♭ at bars 79-80, this is then repeated, except
that the bassoon comes in first. This ends at bar 88.
These last few bars are one long extended perfect cadence in
B♭ (see bars 90-91, 94-95, 95-96, 96-97 etc).
This is also a good example of homophonic texture.
Bar 100: a dominant 7th chord in G minor is used as a pivot
to link back to bar 1 for a repeat of the exposition. The repeat G minor
ensures that:
a) the section balances in terms of bars with the final
recapitulation section
b) the listener is familiar with the two main subjects of the
work.
Bar Numbers
and timing
Analysis
Keys Used
DEVELOPMENT (bars 101-164)
Throughout
101-114
The music of the whole development section is based
entirely on the opening figure of the first subject.
Bars 101-105: following a single G minor chord, a chromatic
chord G♯-B-D-F (diminished 7th) chord leads to a woodwind
chordal and scalic descent in the remote key of F♯ minor
F♯ minor
during which the theme enters in the violins.
Bars 103-114: first four bars of first subject is played four
times in octaves in the violins. Each time the melody is heard
at a lower pitch (descending sequences). The essential
difference is that the harmony is now chromatic. Look at the
descending chromatic chords in the bassoons (bars 107-114)
for example.
Bar Numbers
and timing
114 - 138
Analysis
• At bars 114-115 the music resolves into the key of E minor (V-l) and
now the violas, cellos and bassoons enter with the theme, whilst at
the same time the upper strings play a new quaver tune called a
counter-melody. Notice how this new melody is staccato to help make
it stand out against the legato theme.
• The role of the woodwind (except bassoons) is to provide chordal
harmonic support during this long passage up to bar 132. The horns
add sustained semibreves and minims at points when the woodwind
enter to thicken the musical texture.
• At bar 118, the music modulates to A minor and the melodies switch
around with the counter melody now in the violas, cellos and bassoon
with the theme in octaves in the violins.
• D minor is reached at bar 120. A further switch around happens at
122, now in G minor (last ; crotchet), then to C major at bar 124 and
then again parts switch at bar 126 (last crotchet) now in F major. B♭
major is reached at bar 128. • Notice that each time we go up in a
rising sequence by four notes, Em-Am-Dm-Gm-C-F-B♭! Constant
exploration of different keys is a major feature of the development
section.
• Bars 134-138: repeated A in bassoons violas and cellos form a
dominant pedal (in D minor). The repeated As in the violins add to the
effect.
Keys Used
E minor
A minor
D minor –
G minor –
C major –
F major – B♭
major –
D minor
Bar Numbers
and timing
139 - 164
Analysis
• In this section, texture is reduced as the three notes of the
first subject are used as a motif (a short melodic idea of just a
few notes) that is passed around between the woodwind and
strings creating a dialogue effect.
• During this passage various pedals are used, such as F
(dominant of B♭ minor) at bars 140-142, G (dominant of C
minor) at bar 143 and D (dominant of G minor the tonic key)
in the horns at bars 153-160 where it is taken on by the
bassoons up to the start of the recapitulation.
• The section from bar 153 to 160 is a strong forte passage
with powerful dialogue based on the three-note motif
between upper and lower strings, whereas the following bars
up to the start of the recapitulation are hushed and expectant.
• Tension is provided by the dominant pedal D, which finally
resolves to a tonic G at bar 166.
Keys Used
Bar Numbers
and timing
Analysis
RECAPITULATION (bars 164-299)
Throughout
164-184 (first
subject)
184-227
(bridge
passage)
Keys Used
G minor
The recapitulation is not just a direct repeat of the exposition. The
bridge passage is extended and the coda is far more developed as we
shall see.
First subject in tonic key of G minor. This is exactly the same as in the
exposition at bars 1-20.
This is much extended into a passage of some 51 bars, as opposed to
24 bars in the exposition.
The purpose of the bridge section in the exposition is to take the
music from the tonic to dominant key in preparation for the second
subject. This is not necessary here as the second subject will be in the
tonic key. So, Mozart indulges in some further development of the
thematic material. The bridge is needed to provide structural balance
to the form as a whole - a Classical ideal!
E♭ Major
Bars 184-191: the theme starts the same but almost immediately
modulates to the key of E♭ major. Look at the A♭s appearing from bar
185. A perfect cadence in that key can be seen at bars 190-191.
Bars 191-227: during this section for full orchestra we hear the
strong forte idea heard in the exposition.
We hear the theme spilt between upper and lower strings in
alternating passages
Bar Numbers
and timing
227-260
(second
subject)
Analysis
Unlike at bar 28 onwards of the exposition, we now have added a quaver bass
counter melody to go against the theme. Look at bars 191-197 and you can see
the theme in the violins with the counter melody in bassoons, violas and cellos.
Bars 198-211: the parts swap over. The theme is now in violas, cellos and
bassoon, with the counter melody in violins. Music modulates throughout this
short passage to F minor (bar 198), E♭ major (bar 205) and reaching the home
key at bar 211.
Bars 211-227 are like bars 28-43 of the exposition, except of course that we
remain in the tonic key for the entry of the second subject at bar 227.
Bars 221-225: dominant pedal note of D sounding in the cellos, horns and
bassoons in anticipation of the second subject. The one bar rest at 226 adds to
the drama of expectation!
Bars 227-241: the second subject is now stated in the tonic key of G minor. The
theme here (as in the exposition) is shared between the woodwind and strings.
As before, the musical texture and dynamics are reduced.
Bars 241-245: this short section is an extension in which the music modulates to
B♭ major. Notice the dominant pedal in this key (B♭) at bars 241-245 in the
cellos and horns.
Bars 245-251: rising one-bar sequences. Look at the bass notes: B♭-B♮-D♭-D♮-E♭E♮!
Bars 252-254: perfect cadence of Ic-V-l in G minor leads to
Bars 254-260: the rising form of the theme heard at bars 66-72 in the
exposition, but now in G minor.
Keys Used
F minor E♭ Major –
G minor
B♭ major
G minor
Bar Numbers
and timing
Analysis
CODA (bars 260-299)
260-276
• The three-note motif from the first subject is passed between
the clarinet, bassoon and flute, whilst the first violins exchange
the first two notes of the motif in augmentation with the violas
and cellos. This section is rounded off with a perfect cadence in
G minor at bars 275-276.
276-299
• This starts off as a scalic flourish building to the expected final
cadence.
• However this forte passage is suddenly interrupted with some
piano woodwind chords at bar 285 during which we hear
glimpses of the first subject in the second violins, then first
violins at bar 287, cellos at bar 289, then flute, clarinets and
bassoons at bar 291.
• The final 'tutti' homophonic reiteration of a series of chords I
and V in G minor ending with four emphatic full stops (G minor
chords).
• This last section of six bars corresponds to the last six bars of
the exposition!
293-299
Keys
Used
G minor
Glossary
Augmentation doubling (or more) of the
original note values
Chromatically moving by semitones up or
down
Pathetique literally 'pathetic', refers to a
melancholy mood
Semitone half a tone - the distance between a
white note and an adjacent black note on a
keyboard
Sinfonia an Italian form in origin, these were
works in three sections for strings and
continuo
Text taken from Edexcel GCSE Music – John Arkell, Jonny Martin Pearson Education Ltd. 2009