Symphony No. 36 in C Major ("Linz"), K. 425
2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings
Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
Andante
Menuetto
Presto
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
In the summer of 1783, Mozart brought his new wife Constanze to meet his father and sister in Salzburg. They stayed until October and, on their return trip home to Vienna, they stopped at Linz, where Mozart's patron Count Thun offered them his hospitality. During his sojourn in that city, Mozart was asked to play a public concert, but he wrote to his father that "as I have not a single symphony with me, I am writing a new one at breakneck speed. . . Well, I must close, because I really must set to work." Within six days, Mozart evidently composed the symphony, had it copied, and -- perhaps -- had at least one rehearsal, all in time for its premiere on November 4. The following April, he presented the work in Vienna.
Perhaps it is not surprising that a hastily written symphony by Mozart is an inspired and brilliant work, but it is interesting that he was able to introduce some innovations. It is the first of his symphonies to begin with a slow, expressive introduction. The lyrical second movement Andante calls at times for trumpets and timpani, an unusual feature for that era, even though we may be used to hearing them in later slow movements by Beethoven and in a few late Haydn symphonies. The brilliant finale is in the spirit of Mozart's previous symphony, the "Haffner," in which he asked for the last movement to be played "as fast as possible."
Boston Baroque Performances
Symphony No. 36 in C Major ("Linz"), K. 425
October 25 & 27, 2019
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
March 2 & 3, 2012
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor