Mozart's Symphony No. 36 in C major, K. 425, also known as the Linz Symphony, was written over four days in November 1783 when the composer and his wife Constanze stopped in Linz on their way home to Vienna after a trip to Salzburg. When Johann Joseph Anton, the Count of Thun, heard of the composer's arrival, he announced a concert. The symphony premiered in Linz on 4 November 1783, and was later performed in Vienna on 1 April 1784.

Structure

The symphony is scored for 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

There are four movements:

Every movement except the minuet is in sonata form.

The first movement briefly quotes the famous Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah in the exposition.

The slow movement has a siciliano character and meter which was rare in Mozart's earlier symphonies (only used in one of the slow movements of No. 31) but would appear frequently in later works such as No. 38 and No. 40.

<score>

\relative c' {

\tempo "Adagio"

\time 3/4

c8\f[ r16. c32] e8[ r16. e32] a8[ r16. a32] |

b,8[ r16. d32] d4^\markup { \italic ten. } r8 r16. b,,32 |

bes8[ r16. <e' c'>32] q4^\markup { \italic ten. } r |

}

</score>

Notes

Further reading

  • Steinberg, Michael. The Symphony: A Listeners Guide. p. 153. Oxford University Press, 1995.
  • "Work details, audio excerpts; 1st version, 30 October 1783, Linz", "2nd version, 9 June 1785, Vienna", Köchel Verzeichnis, International Mozarteum Foundation
  • , Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf