Concert V Program Notes

by Robert Hurwitz

The earliest composition of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which today still ranks as a masterpiece was the brilliant motet for soprano Exsultate, jubilate (K. 165). The term 'motet' is usually applied to a piece of Renaissance choral music rather than to a work such as Exsultate, but motet is what Mozart called this particular piece. Composed when Mozart was just sixteen, the work received its first performance on January 17, 1773, in the Church of San Antonio, Milan, shortly before Mozart turned 17 years of age.

Wolfgang and his father, Leopold, had traveled to Milan in October 1772 for the premiere of his opera Lucio Silla, in which the famous castrato Venanzio Rauzzini was assigned a leading role. Exactly why Mozart composed Exsultate, jubilate for Rauzzini and not for a female soprano, remains unclear, but surely Rauzzini's extraordinary ability, as evidenced by the dazzling virtuosity of the piece and its demanding, coloratura style seems a convincing reason. In this work, Mozart combines the aria and recitative style of opera with the tripartite form of the Italian symphony, the movements of which have tempos that are fast, slow, and fast respectively to produce what is truly a three movement vocal concerto.

The work opens with an Allegro in F major, followed by a slower, more lyrical Andante in A major that is preceded by a recitative. The concluding movement, Molto Allegro in F major, is the brilliant and famous Alleluia, a favorite of Mozart devotees worldwide.

Before his appointment in 1759 at the age of 27 as KapeIlmeister to Count Morizin, Haydn was a freelance musician in Vienna earning a portion of his living by teaching. In that capacity he was engaged by Johann Peter Keller, a Viennese wig-maker, to teach his two daughters, the elder of whom (Maria Anna) Haydn later married, with unhappy results. But it was the younger daughter, Therese, with whom he was truly in love. In 1755, at the behest of her very pious parents, Therese entered a nunnery, and on 12 May 1756 she took her vows. It was for this occasion, according to Haydn, that the Organ Concerto in C major was written.

The C major concerto is an early work, composed before any of Haydn’s string quartets or symphonies. It is the only one of Haydn's six authenticated organ concertos to have survived in autograph. Haydn's own catalogue of his works lists it as a concerto 'Per il cIavicembalo' [for harpsichord], but penciled underneath is 'Conc per L' organo'. Like Haydn's other concertos for organ, it has no pedal line, and was listed and presented as a harpsichord concerto in order to secure a wider circulation. The range of the solo part betrays the work's origin as an organ concerto.

The concerto is scored for an orchestra of strings and two oboes, but Haydn also left a pair of blank staves marked 'Clarino', and trumpets and timpani may well have been heard at the first performance. Unfortunately, no music for these instruments exists in Haydn's own hand.

The first movement of this admittedly youthful work is in a fully developed classical sonata form, quite ambitious for the time of its composition. The second and third movements are in binary form, recalling the earlier rococo style.

Schubert composed his Fifth Symphony during September and October of 1816. The work was not intended for the general public, but was instead written for a group of amateur musicians who met regularly in Schubert's home, and this likely accounts for the modest size of the orchestral forces (flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns and strings, with clarinets, trumpets and timpani omitted).

The entire symphony is characterized by a delicacy and lyricism which is far removed from the influence of Schubert's great contemporary, Beethoven, and looks back to the works of Haydn, and especially Mozart. Even in the normally more dynamic passages of transition and modulation, the music flows with smoothness and charm.

The first movement begins with what British musicologist Donald Tovey calls a "delicious" four-bar introduction in the main tempo, followed immediately by a lovely principal theme, which makes unobtrusive use of imitation in the strings. After a brisk transition, the second theme of contrasting, but still light, demeanor is presented. The brief development section concentrates mainly on the flute motive and violin scale heard in the opening introduction, an interesting and unusual bit of innovation.

The main theme of the slow movement is a lovely song, simple and innocent. It appears three times, separated by episodes of more unstable harmony. It is in these passages that Schubert showcases his unique ability to mix major and minor tonalities and to move naturally and easily to remote key areas.

The minuet movement is reminiscent of Mozart and is in the same key as the latter's minuet in his Symphony No. 40, but it is much simpler and more straightforward. The trio is what one musicologist has called "a well-bred Laendler."

The finale is the most Mozartean movement of the work. In sonata form, it moves merrily along, retaining the sense of innocence and joy established in the earlier movements. It provides a most fitting conclusion for this gem of a symphony.