Hearken to the instrumental music of Mozart, and you might hear the unfolding of a digital opera with out phrases.
Transcending mere vocal virtuosity, Mozart’s best operas supply layers of character improvement and dramatic sophistication. The instrumental traces of the orchestra rise to new prominence and interact with the voices onstage to create a magically enhanced drama. The literal actuality of the story meets a deeper poetic actuality. Boundaries are blurred and musical traces interweave to create an excellent “complete.”
Mozart had but to write down his most notable operas when he composed the Sinfonia Concertante in E-Flat Main, Ok. 364 in 1779. But, this can be a piece which is crammed with operatic drama. A daring fusion of the symphony and the concerto, it presents the solo violin and viola as equals in a chic musical dialog. Because the soulful viola meets its flashier and extra extroverted counterpart, two distinct and endearing personas come into focus. On the time this music was written, the 23-year-old Mozart had fled the confines of Salzburg to embark on a live performance tour of Europe which included Mannheim and Paris. Quickly after, this burst of inventive freedom value Mozart his employment in Salzburg, and he relocated completely to Vienna.
Listening to this music, we’re reminded of Mozart’s deep affection for the viola. Though he was an distinctive violinist, Mozart gravitated to the interior voices of the viola when enjoying string quartets. All through the Sinfonia Concertante, the orchestral viola half is regularly divided, as if to have fun the heat and richness of those interior traces. So as to obtain extra brilliance by way of increased string pressure, Mozart wrote the solo viola half in D main and requested that the strings be tuned a semitone increased. Resulting from enhancements in tonal energy, this scordatura approach is seldom utilized in trendy performances.
Within the eighteenth century, Mannheim was well-known for a sequence of musical improvements which included the Mannheim Rocket (a quickly ascending arpeggio line), the Mannheim Sigh (accentuated weight on the primary observe of a two-note slur), and the Mannheim Curler (an prolonged crescendo with a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass). The primary motion’s orchestral introduction contains one of the thrilling examples of the latter ever conceived (1:27), with a breathlessly anticipation-filled upward rising crescendo. Whereas cadenzas on the time had been normally improvised by the performers, the cadenzas which shut the Sinfonia Concertante’s first and second actions had been written out by Mozart. They resemble the type of vocal cadenza which could shut an operatic duet.
The second motion strikes to a veiled C minor. It’s an intimate dialog crammed with tenderness, melancholy, and thriller. We enterprise deeply into the paranormal and indescribable world which exists past probably the most competently drafted opera libretto. The dialog unfolds by way of a seemingly endless melodic stream.
The concluding Presto brings the festivity of an operatic finale. The solo violin and viola enter right into a fun-loving competitors of virtuosity and imitation. It’s a recreation performed by equals, through which every appears to be saying, “I can do something you are able to do!”
I. Allegro maestoso:
II. Andante:
III. Presto:
5 Nice Recordings
Featured Picture: trendy structure in Mozart’s native Salzburg, “Jewels of Salzburg” (2014) by Hariri & Hariri Structure
