The Symphony opens with a splendidly theatrical falling diminished seventh – the prelude to a drama that unfolds rather like the storm scenes of operas of the time. This is tense, terse music, marked by fierce syncopations, pregnant silences, and a powerful bass line, the last employed for melodic purposes rather than as mere accompaniment.
– Herbert Glass (English-language annotator and editor for the Salzburg Festival)
Let this sink in for one moment…This legendary classical piece was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at just 17 years of age in October 1773. At that age, I was seated on my skateboard, scooting down steep grassy hills while filming from a first-person vantage point with my Dad’s work portable video camera, unbeknownst to him, of course.
I think the Symphony No. 25 is one of the most intense, dramatic pieces of classical music I have ever heard. Those urgent, abbreviated string lines create this immense sound of turbulence and dark intensity. It is used to chilling and unforgettable effect in one of the most impactful opening scenes in cinematic history.
This first movement served as the iconic opening music in Miloš Forman’s biographical film Amadeus. I remember the shock and awe of seeing this for the first time, with my parents as a child. I have Amadeus sitting at No. 1 in my all time 100 favourite movies list. The music was performed by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, for the film’s soundtrack. Most of its wondrous soundtrack has featured here.
Overall, the movie and music helped define my taste in music, films and art. I often associate it with my grandmother Dorothy who was a classical pianist and often performed Mozart’s music to us and adored the movie. She was my main inspiration to undertake my Music Library Project which I wrote about in the inauguration post.
The Symphony No. 25 in G minor was completed in Salzburg on 5 October, a mere two days after the completion of his Symphony No. 24.
No. 25 was likely influenced by Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 39, also in G minor. It is easy to hear the similarities between the two.
‘Mozart was a keen student of Haydn’s symphonies, and the latter’s G-minor (No. 39) must have served as a model for the first of the younger composer’s two symphonies in that dark key.’
– Herbert Glass
Mozart and Haydn later became close friends in Vienna during the 1780s, with Haydn serving as an important influence on the younger composer. Mozart affectionately addressed him as “Papa Haydn.”
References:
1. Symphony No. 25 (Mozart) – Wikipedia
2. Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183 – LA Phil
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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