Posted on 08/15/2015 7:29:49 AM PDT by nwrep
Mozart finished his last symphony, no. 41 on August 10, 1788. It was nicknamed "Jupiter" after his death.
Certainly it is the loftiest and most magisterial of Mozart's symphonies, with a formal and ceremonial quality in keeping with its key of C major. Although today we think of C major as the plainest and most basic of keys — all white notes on the piano — in the late 18th century it was usually associated with court and high-church pomp since it was well suited to the valveless trumpets of the period. And we find two of them adding brilliance to this work, along with the timpani that invariably accompanied them.
The "Jupiter's" ceremonial quality, however, extends far beyond key and scoring. Throughout this work, there is a majesty of conception we find in no other Mozart symphony.
The Last movement (see video):
Mozart leaves the best to last. Throughout the 1780s, he had studied counterpoint — the art of weaving together many independent musical lines — with passionate interest and had poured over the scores of J. S. Bach. But rather than a ponderous display of contrapuntal erudition, he uses the intricate interplay of his instrumental lines here to create an overwhelming sense of richness, splendor, and excitement. Mozart weaves his magic with a half-dozen pithy themes, beginning with the sturdy opening four-note motive. Derived from Gregorian chant, this theme was a musical cliché of the period, used frequently by other composers as well as Mozart himself in earlier works. But again the artistry is not in the “what” but in the “how.” The apotheosis comes in the closing moments of the symphony when Mozart sets five of his themes spinning together in a double fugue, revealing, "vistas of contrapuntal infinity."
Ping
Purty. But needs more cowbell.
Marvelous. Thanks for the post.
The Jupiter is indeed a towering work, complex in its textures and richly experimental. It makes you wonder what Mozart could have accomplished if he had lived longer ...
Thanks nwrep!
Ping to a friend!
Good thread.
Except it ended there.
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