W.A.MOZART - SINFONIA CONCERTANTE K.297b

The Mozart of his twenties was a young man carrying great hopes and ambitions when he arrived in Paris, dreaming of an opportunity to establish himself. The memories of his childhood performances in this splendid city became a source of motivation as he sought to move forward. After all, Paris was a place where talent from every corner converged, a city that inspired the dreams of countless musicians — and Mozart was no exception.

At the age of 22, Mozart arrived here with his mother in March, at the height of the concert season. The young prodigy became acquainted with the impresario Joseph Legros, who commissioned Mozart to compose a Sinfonia Concertante to be performed during the Holy Week concerts.

At the time, the Sinfonia Concertante was a popular genre of the Classical period, which might be loosely described as a hybrid between the concerto and the symphony. While a concerto places the solo role at the centre, highlighting a single instrument, the Sinfonia Concertante gives this prominent role to a group of instruments, while the orchestra provides accompaniment and creates musical contrast.

Mozart wrote to his father that he was preparing to premiere a Sinfonia Concertante for four wind instruments and orchestra. In his letter, he also mentioned that the musicians he intended to entrust with the performance were all enthusiastic about the work of this passionate young composer, and that the score had been handed over to the impresario Legros. Yet it was not long before the carefree excitement of those early days gave way to disappointment. Visits to wealthy patrons in aristocratic households brought no results, and eventually Legros set the Sinfonia Concertante aside. The original score was subsequently lost.

Nearly eighty years after Mozart’s death, a collector discovered a wandering manuscript of a Sinfonia Concertante, which was identified as a work by Mozart. It was subsequently entered into the catalogue of Mozart’s compositions (Köchel catalogue) under the designation K.297b.

Scholars have long debated the authenticity of the surviving manuscript, perhaps because of several unusual features. Contrary to the instrumentation described in Mozart’s letter to his father, the rediscovered manuscript does not feature the four solo wind instruments of flute, oboe, horn and bassoon; instead, the ensemble consists of oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. Another striking peculiarity is that all three movements share the same principal key, E-flat major — something that few would have expected Mozart to do. Nevertheless, the work still reveals the graceful, luminous character so distinctive of Mozart’s style, and it has remained beloved and frequently performed to this day.

Structure

I. Allegro — Fast, and written in sonata form. The exposition unfolds in three statements: the first is presented by the orchestra, while the following two are taken up by the group of wind instruments. The movement concludes with a cadenza followed by a coda.

II. Adagio — Slow, with the music unfolding through an interplay of contrasting thematic materials.

II. Andante con variazioni — Slow, with variations. The final movement begins with an initial theme that establishes the fixed framework, after which the theme returns ten times, each time transformed in a different way — forming ten variations.

Mai Hạnh, 7.2022.