Symphony No. 8 (Mozart)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The Symphony No. 8 in D major, (K. 48), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is dated 13 December 1768. Mozart wrote the symphony in Vienna, when he was twelve years old, at a time when he and his family were already due to have returned home to Salzburg. In a letter to his friend in Salzburg, Johann Lorenz Hagenauer, Leopold Mozart says of the delay that "we could not bring our affairs to a conclusion earlier, even though I endeavored strenuously to do so." The autograph of the Symphony No. 8 is today preserved in the Berlin State Library.

Structure

The symphony is in four movements, and is scored for two oboes, two horns in D, two trumpets in D, timpani and strings. The inclusion of trumpets and timpani is unusual for Mozart's early symphonies. It has been described as a "ceremonial work".

There are four movements:

1. Allegro, ³
   ₄
2. Andante, ²
   ₄ in G major
3. Menuetto and Trio, ³
   ₄
4. Molto allegro, ¹²
   ₈

The first movement begins with downward leaps on the violins and follows with scale figures. These sets of figures alternate between strings and winds.

The second movement is for strings alone and begins with a narrow melodic range which expands toward the end.

The third movement is a Minuet full of rapid string passages, and includes the trumpets and timpani, but not during the Trio.

The final movement is a gigue, whose main theme unusually does not end the movement. Along with this symphony's minuet, it contains similar characteristics & aspects to its previous symphony by number, Symphony No. 7 in D Major.

References

Sources

• Kenyon, Nicholas: The Pocket Guide to Mozart Pegasus Books, New York 2006 ISBN 1-933648-23-6
• Zaslaw, Neal: Mozart's Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991 ISBN 0-19-816286-3

External links

•  Symphony in D K. 48: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
• Free scores by Symphony No. 8 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)