Symphony No. 25 (Mozart)

The Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183/173dB, was written by the then 17-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in October 1773,[1] shortly after the success of his opera seria Lucio Silla. It was supposedly completed in Salzburg on October 5, a mere two days after the completion of his Symphony No. 24, although this remains unsubstantiated. Its first movement is widely known as the opening music in Miloš Forman's film Amadeus.

Symphony in G minor
No. 25
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart in 1773, portrait by Martin Knoller
KeyG minor
CatalogueK. 183/173dB
Composed1773 (1773)
Movementsfour

This is one of two symphonies Mozart composed in G minor, sometimes referred to as the "little G minor symphony". The other is the Symphony No. 40; see also Mozart and G minor.

Movements

The symphony is laid out in standard classical form:

  1. Allegro con brio, 4
    4     in G minor
  2. Andante, 2
    4     in E-flat major
  3. Menuetto & Trio, 3
    4     in G minor, Trio in G major
  4. Allegro, 4
    4     in G minor

This symphony is scored for two oboes, two bassoons, four horns and strings.

First movement

Second movement

Third movement

Fourth movement

Style and influence

With its wide-leap melodic lines and syncopation, this symphony is characteristic of the Sturm und Drang style. It shares certain features with other Sturm and Drang symphonies of this time, and is likely inspired by Haydn's Symphony No. 39, also in G minor.[2]

Performance history

The work was first performed in the United States by the Boston Symphony Orchestra on October 27, 1899, under the direction of Wilhelm Gericke. It was not performed again in the U.S. until 1937, when rendered by the Alfred Wallenstein Sinfonietta. John Barbirolli and the New York Philharmonic performed it again in 1941 as part of their centennial season.[3]

Notes
  1. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (2005). Die Sinfonien III. Giglberger, Veronika (preface), Robinson, J. Branford (transl.). Kassel: Bärenreiter. pp. XIII. ISMN M-006-20466-3
  2. H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn: Chronicle and Works, 5 vols, (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1976–) vol. 2, Haydn at Eszterhaza, 1766–1790
  3. Hall, David (1942). Mozart: Symphony No. 25 in G minor (78rpm album set). John Barbirolli and the Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York. New York: Columbia Records. MX-217.
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