Overture to The Magic Flute, K. 620
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
THE STORY
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute was his final completed work, composed in the last year of his life. Mozart had been struggling financially, unable to secure a steady court position. The Magic Flute became the greatest hit of his career and almost surely would have changed his circumstances, were it not for his untimely death at age 35, just a few months after the premiere.
Composed in the popular singspiel style of the time—a combination of singing and spoken dialogue, much like our Broadway musicals—The Magic Flute tells the story of a prince on a quest to save a damsel in distress, carrying a flute with magical powers to protect him along the way. However, the opera is widely believed to carry a deeper meaning. Both Mozart and the librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, were Freemasons, and the story is often seen as an allegory for a quest toward wisdom and enlightenment, filled with Masonic symbolism.
Nevertheless, the opera’s overture—finished just several days before the premiere near Vienna—is sublime in its directness and simplicity. It follows the familiar layout of a symphonic first movement (“sonata form”), with an introduction, exposition of the main themes, development during which the themes are explored in new ways, and a recapitulation of the opening ideas.
LISTEN FOR
• Three heavy, solemn chords that begin the slow introduction; the number three was an important symbol of Freemasons
• The opening theme in the strings—light with forward rhythmic momentum—inviting us into the fairy world
• Flirtatious, whirling interjections from the woodwinds
INSTRUMENTATION
Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings
Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219, “Turkish”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
THE STORY
Mozart most likely wrote all five of his violin concertos in the same year, when he was 19 years old. He was an accomplished violinist—and at the time was concertmaster of the Archbishop of Salzburg’s Orchestra—so the five concertos may have been composed for himself to perform.
The Violin Concerto No. 5 shows Mozart’s command of both Italian and French styles of composition, as well as great imagination and experimentation. Its nickname comes from the final movement, interrupted by a sudden switch to wild, minor-key music, which audiences at the time would have understood as a “Turkish” sound.
The solo part favors refinement over showy displays, but, as is so often the case with the music of Mozart, the simplicity on the surface belies the technical demands. Interpretation of the concerto also requires consummate artistry. Mozart considered himself an opera composer above all else, and no matter the genre, his music is always about the characters—here, the soloist must embody several clearly defined voices as the concerto’s “story” unfolds.
LISTEN FOR
• After a lively introduction, the unexpected change in mood as the soloist plays a slow and sweet passage—then, just as quickly, returns to the upbeat pace
• The sighs and slight pauses that give the lyrical Adagio such an expressive quality
• The frenzied “Turkish” section at the center of the third movement, with strongly accented beats, chromatic scales, sudden changes in dynamics, and the percussive col legno (playing with the wood of the bow) in the cellos and basses
INSTRUMENTATION
Solo violin; two oboes, two horns, strings
Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551, "Jupiter"
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
THE STORY
More than any of his other works, Mozart’s final symphony, “Jupiter,” leaves us wondering what he would have accomplished had he not died so tragically young. His final symphony is considered one of the greatest ever written and, with its grand scale that pushed the Classical-era conventions beyond their limits, hints not-so-subtly at the Romantic symphonies to come. Yet, unlike the Beethoven symphonies that followed, there is no storyline of conflict, struggle, and resolution—just abstract beauty.
This is not to say there is any lack of emotional depth—but the emotions explored are those of exuberance and joy, wonder, and good humor. The key of C major would have immediately signaled feelings of pomp and celebration for Mozart’s audiences.
Unfortunately, Mozart may not have had the opportunity to see the public delight in his new work; there is no evidence that it was performed during his lifetime. Composed quickly during the summer of 1788 as the third of a set of three symphonies, it was one of his only works not written on commission or for a specific purpose.
More than three decades later, when it was to be presented in London, the impresario Johann Peter Salomon coined the nickname that is familiar to us today. “Jupiter” referred not to the planet, but to the Roman god of the sky—alluding to the majesty of the work and serving as a marketing tool.
The full power and magnificence of the symphony is unleashed at the end of the final movement, where Mozart brilliantly weaves together five independent lines heard earlier into a five-part fugue, opening our eyes to see that these diverse musical ideas were actually meant to fit together all along. It is a stroke of pure genius and the dazzling complexity is made even more magical by the fact that the first three movements are relatively straightforward and direct. Schumann once said that there are simply no words to describe the “Jupiter” symphony—a sentiment shared by the 19th-century critic Aleksandr Ulïbïchev, who wrote, “one must hear this music to believe it is possible.”
LISTEN FOR
• The operatic construction of the Allegro vivace—the bold and militaristic “masculine” theme (perhaps a nod to Austria’s impending war with the Ottoman Empire) is contrasted with a lyrical “feminine” theme
• An innocent-sounding theme that takes a dark and agitated journey through a minor key with restless syncopated rhythms in the Andante cantabile
• The stately minuet of the Allegretto, which—as opposed to minuets meant for dancing—shifts the stress of the beat from phrase to phrase
• The four-note figure that is an important voice in the concluding fugue; this four-note theme is from a 13th century plainchant and was widely used as “homework” to teach counterpoint to young composers—it is as if Mozart is saying, “Now see what I can do with the assignment!”
INSTRUMENTATION
Flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, strings
