Symphony No. 7 (Mozart)

Symphony No. 7 in D major, K. 45, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was completed in Vienna in January 1768 after the family's return from a visit to Olomouc and Brno in Moravia. The symphony is in four movements. Its first performance was probably at a private concert.^[1] The symphony was reworked to become the overture to Mozart's opera, La finta semplice, K. 51,^[2] composed and performed later that year, and the overture itself was subsequently adapted further to create a new symphony, known in the Köchel 1964 (K6) catalogue as K. 46a. The autograph of the score is preserved in the Staatsbibliothek Preusischer Kulturbesitz in Berlin.^[2]

Movements and instrumentation

For the original (K. 45) version the instrumentation was: strings, 2 oboes, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, bassoon, continuo. For the symphonic overture (K. 46a) version the trumpets were replaced with flutes, an extra bassoon was added, and the timpani were excised.^[1][3]

1. Allegro, 4/4
2. Andante, 2/4
3. Menuetto and Trio, 3/4 (This movement was omitted from the "overture" version)^[3]
4. Molto allegro, 2/4

Performance details

According to analyst Neal Zaslaw, the first occasion on which the K. 45 version could have been heard was a concert given by Prince von Galitzin, the Russian ambassador, at his Vienna residence in late March, 1768.^[1] The K. 46b version was heard at the premiere of La finta semplice, at Salzburg on 1 May 1769.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Zaslaw, pp. 114–18
2. ^ ^{a b} Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus; Giglberger, Veronika (preface), Robinson, J. Branford (transl.) (2005). Die Sinfonien I.. Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag. pp. p. XI.  ISMN M-006-20466-3
3. ^ ^{a b c} Osborne, p. 40

Sources

• Osborne, Charles: The Complete Operas of Mozart Gollancz, London 1992 ISBN 0-575-03823-3
• Zaslaw, Neal: Mozart's Symphonies: Context, Performance Practice, Reception OUP, Oxford 1991 ISBN 0-19-816286-3

External links

• Sinfonie in D KV 45: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
• Symphony No. 7: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.