Utah Symphony

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) – Mozart was not able to complete his greatest work. His progress on the Requiem was undermined by the busy commission schedule and failing health that marked his final year of life. By all accounts, he labored unsuccessfully to finish the music from his deathbed, often in great agony. Was this suffering due to illness or was Mozart poisoned? If so, by whom? A bitter rival? The secret commissioner himself?

THE MUSIC – If the mystery surrounding the Requiem sounds like grand fiction, it is because a great majority of it is. First things first: Antonio Salieri did not poison Mozart. No one did. The most credible diagnosis of his fatal sickness was rheumatic inflammatory fever, a condition with symptoms very similar to those mentioned in Mozart’s medical history. Another popular myth concerns the shadowy “gray messenger” that called on Mozart to offer the secret Requiem commission. This “sinister” man was likely no more than a lawyer’s clerk under the employ of Count Franz von Walsegg. The name Walsegg, at last, offers us some certainty. He did commission the Requiem in honor of the recently departed Countess and though he did forbid Mozart to attempt to learn his identity, it was not for the reasons history would have us assume. Walsegg evidently had a penchant for commissioning works in secret so he could present them later as his own. It was a relatively harmless habit, especially when compared to a poisoning, and his name came to light soon after Mozart’s death anyhow. The incomplete score left the Count and Mozart’s heirs with a dilemma. Mozart’s students, Süssmayr principal among them, took the first stab at a completion though they were certainly not the last. Many scholars have since tried to improve upon that original effort, including Robert Levin (1994), who made changes to the orchestration while also adding the recently discovered Amen fugue.                        

THE WORLD – The United States ratified the Bill of Rights in 1791. Found (and founded) in 1791 were the element Titanium by English mineralogist William Gregor, the London Observer, the Bank of the United States and the State of Vermont.

THE CONNECTION – The Mozart Requiem is a popular work. The last Utah Symphony Masterworks presentation came in 2008 under the direction of Pietari Inkinen.

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) – Though only 24 in 1780, Mozart already had several operas to his credit. His catalogue to that point was modest in terms of critical success, but he was beginning to garner the interest of some important people. One such personage was Elector Karl Theodor of Bavaria, who commissioned an opera seria from Mozart for the 1781 Carnival season in Munich. The result was a turning point in Mozart’s career.  

THE MUSIC – The opera seria form was on the wane by the 1780s and had changed significantly since its formative days in the 1720s. As different as it may have looked from the rigid structural designs of its heyday, opera seria still had its share of expectations when Mozart composed Idomeneo for the Bavarian festival. Among them was the obligatory incorporation of a French-style ballet, itself a pre-defined set of dance forms that included the chaconne. A chaconne typically employs a repeating melodic bass line above which a series of thematic variations unfolds but Mozart, in keeping with his own unconventional bent, crafted more of a grand rondo instead. It wasn’t the only example of “rule-breaking” by Mozart in the ballet sections or even the larger opera itself. He clearly accepted the framework of traditional opera seria in only the most cursory way and with his disobediences pushed the form forward by the sheer force of his genius. The libretto of Idomeneo recounts the story of the Cretan King’s return from the Trojan Wars. He makes a promise of sacrifice to Neptune during a brutal storm and only later realizes that this deal has put his son at grave risk. Events lead to a monster-slaying, a compromise and an abdication. All ends well and the chorus sings triumphantly for the new royal couple. The ballet grows naturally from this dignified mood and Mozart’s noble Chaconne echoes the relief of averted tragedy.                 

THE WORLD – Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in 1781, effectively ending the American Revolutionary War. Insurgent Peruvian leader Tupac Amaru II was captured and violently executed by the Spanish colonial authorities. Also in 1781, the planet Uranus was “discovered.”

THE CONNECTION – Mozart’s Chaconne from Idomeneo has never been performed on a Utah Symphony Masterworks concert, nor has the full opera been produced by Utah Opera.

By Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) – Mozart was settled into a life more singularly focused on composition in 1788 and less on concert performance as a pianist. His final three symphonies date from this year, as does the D Major Piano Concerto. Mozart was far enough removed from a regular performance schedule in fact, that he found it difficult to arrange a premiere of his new concerto for over a year.    

THE MUSIC – That first concert happened in Dresden in April of 1789 but it was the Frankfurt performance in October of 1790 that gave the work its nickname. Mozart was back in Germany for the coronation of Leopold II as Holy Roman Emperor and played the Concerto No. 26 as part of the regal festivities. The popularity trajectory of “Coronation” has been fitful. It was among his most beloved throughout the 19th century, owing to its easy charm and a weightless virtuosity that made the music seem less emotionally complicated than the 12 Vienna concerti he wrote between 1784 and 1786. These same qualities made No. 26 something of a relic in the last half of the 20th century. Alfred Einstein wrote in 1945 that “Mozart imitated himself” with this “amiable” work but Michael Steinberg warned us in 1998 not to confuse this lighter touch with triviality, noting that the piece’s reputation of simplicity is at least partly due to the unfinished nature of the piano part itself. Mozart, as the original performer, was not obliged by specificity in 1788. For him, a skeletal shorthand sufficed but we are left with lengthy sections for which the left hand notes are essentially nonexistent. The first printed edition of 1794 attempted to fill in some of the blanks but the result has not earned much critical support. By study and intuition, modern soloists now face the thrilling task of re-creating the master’s original intentions.       

THE WORLD – The “Day of the Tiles” occurred in 1788, an event many credit as the start of the French Revolution. Cyrus Griffin became the 10th and final President of the United States Continental Congress. And Sydney, Australia was established by British colonists.

THE CONNECTION – Though many Mozart Concerti have appeared on Utah Symphony Masterworks programs, these performances offer the local premiere of No. 26.

by Jeff Counts

THE COMPOSER – WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) – Mozart was working simultaneously on the Requiem and Die Zauberflöte in 1791 when he received a commission for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia. The opera La Clemenza di Tito enjoyed a less than enthusiastic reception then and now shoulders the unfortunate infamy of taking time away from the other two projects. In the summer of 1791, time was not something Mozart had much more of.  

THE MUSIC – Despite some reported early pronouncements of a “most tedious spectacle” that offered little more than “German swinishness,” La Clemenza di Tito has lately known redemption in scholarly circles and opera houses alike. The tireless rehabilitative efforts on behalf of this opera by Mozart’s widow Constanze are a major part of the story but Tito did have other initial supporters. His first biographer noted the work’s “still sublimity” and wondered if the opera did not in fact rival Don Giovanni. Mozart was under considerable pressure to complete Tito quickly and apparently did so in less than three weeks, a feat that initially seems to have damned the music with a de rigueur categorization as stiff and uninspired in comparison to his other 1791 opera. Had Tito been written at any other time in Mozart’s life, away from the unforgiving glare of Die Zauberflöte, it would likely have been seen as Constanze saw it then and we see it now – as a very fine and highly dignified example of the fading opera seria style. The libretto came from Pietro Metastasio and his opera of the same name from 1734. The story tells of the Roman Emperor Titus and his extraordinarily generous clemency of the various plotters against his life and throne. Though the overture is strangely devoid of themes from the opera itself, it does set a perfectly noble mood, one worthy of both a Roman and an Austrian monarch.            

THE WORLD – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate was completed in 1791. James Fitch was awarded a patent for his steamboat in America. Haydn was awarded an honorary doctorate by Oxford University. 1791 was also the publication year of Justine by the Marquis de Sade.

THE CONNECTION – The Overture to La Clemenza di Tito was last performed by Utah Symphony in 1981 under Varujan Kojian.  Utah Opera has yet to produce the full opera.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)

THE COMPOSER – Mozart was 19 years old in 1775 when his 3rd violin concerto premiered in his native Salzburg where he was employed as a court musician. As prolific as he would become in the composition of piano concerti he wrote only five for the violin, all during the course of that single year (with the possible exception of the 1st which some scholars date in 1773).

THE MUSIC – History recalls Mozart so fondly as a pianist that we often forget he was also a suburb violinist. He began his string studies at the age of six and performed a concerto just one year later for the birthday celebration of the Archbishop of Salzburg. In an interesting bit of symmetry, it may well have been his violin playing that earned him employment in the court of a later Salzburg Archbishop, one Count Hieronymus Colloredo. Colloredo himself was a violinist of a sort but even with that point of mutual interest, theirs was not to be a comfortable relationship. It is lucky that the violin concerti Mozart wrote during that tough period show none of the professional discomfort he endured, but we are left to assume that the end of his job in the Salzburg court and the end of his association with the violin as a performer are directly linked. Records of his possessions at the time of his death show that he no longer even owned one. Very little is known about the premiere of the lovely and perky 3rd Concerto but it is quite possible that the composer appeared as soloist. If Mozart did in fact perform the piece, his cadenzas from that concert are unfortunately lost to time but his affection for the instrument and intimate understanding of its virtuosic potential are not.

THE WORLD – 1775 was the year of Paul Revere’s ride and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. James Watt completed and patented a successful prototype of his steam engine. Also in 1775, explorer James Cook would return from his historic voyage to the Antarctic.

THE CONNECTION – Utah Symphony has presented Mozart’s 3rd Violin Concerto no less than seven times since 1980, most recently in 2007 with Concertmaster Ralph Matson as soloist and fellow violinist Jaime Laredo on the podium.

by Jeff Counts

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)       
Concerto in A Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 622
I.     Allegro
II.     Adagio
III.    Rondo: Allegro

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings.
Duration: 25 minutes in three movements (with pauses).

THE COMPOSER –
The Clarinet Concerto of 1791 is one of Mozart’s last completed works. It was written for Anton Stadler during a time when the composer was enmeshed in the final stages of not only the Requiem, but the operas Die Zauberflöte and La Clemenza di Tito as well. It was premiered less than two months before Mozart’s untimely passing.

THE MUSIC –
It is no surprise that the Clarinet Concerto’s status as Mozart’s last solely instrumental piece has led scholars to mine it for clues of the Mozart that might have been. It is difficult to say how much this music tells us about how the great master’s voice would have developed had he lived beyond 1791 but it is interesting to consider the popularity of the work outside of its important historical position in the composer’s catalogue. Mozart’s collaborative relationship with clarinetist Anton Stadler did much to advance the reputation of the instrument. He wrote for it often and the concerto he produced marks a perfect synthesis of compositional intention, soloistic possibility and instrumental development. The clarinet of 1791 was a highly capable technical vehicle for Mozart’s ingenuity and complex melodic desires and in Stadler he found a virtuoso worthy of the challenge. The Concerto is still regarded by many as the best of its class, even when compared to the formidable repertoire it spawned. The works of Weber, Nielsen, Copland and others owe much to its sense of balance and interplay between soloist and accompaniment. The clarinet itself owes Mozart much more than that. Though the instrument didn’t start with Mozart, it was his loving devotion that brought it into full bloom.         

THE CONTEXT –
Mozart was not quite 36 when he died in 1791. Haydn was a robust 59. Beethoven was just shy of 21. The United States was barely 25. The clarinet, in 1791, was probably closing on its 100th birthday.   

THE CONNECTION –
The Clarinet Concerto has been featured most often on the Salute to Youth program (1967, 1974 and 1987) but has also been programmed on the Chamber Series (1995) and as part of the summer season of 2002. Utah Symphony musicians appeared as soloist on both of the latter performances and current Principal Clarinet Tad Calcara will be again featured this evening.  

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Overture to Die Zauberflöte, K. 620 (The Magic Flute)

Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, strings.
Duration: 7 minutes.

THE COMPOSER –
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) was Mozart’s penultimate opera, written during the extremely fertile last year of his life in 1791. It was an example of the popular dramatic style known as Singspiel (a blend of singing and spoken text) and also an allegory on Mozart’s own Masonic associations and beliefs. He would live to see it successfully staged and actually conducted the premiere performances, though his death just months later would deprive him of knowing how lasting and important the work would eventually become.

THE MUSIC –
Three chords begin the overture in direct tribute to the Masonic themes of the opera. After the mysterious but inexorable introduction, it is a fleet-footed five minutes until the end. The allegro section is essentially monothematic but with Mozart, one theme is plenty. He treats us to right away to fugue, transformation, delightful instrumental playfulness and an invigorating sense that something special is in store. Right in the middle of this infectious activity are the famous three times three chords, the “dreimalige Akkord ,” which not only echo the overture’s opening but clear the air before the development proper with spectacular effect. It is important to view The Magic Flute not as Mozart’s benediction or farewell to opera but rather as the excited, forward-looking declaration of a young genius in his prime. This is the hopeful music of a man with plans for the future, not the last rites of someone who felt time slipping and assumed he had said enough. From this perspective, the Overture to The Magic Flute may well be the most rewarding six minutes in music.  

THE CONTEXT –
1791 holds special, almost religious significance for the music world as the year we lost Mozart. Others were also lost that year including Methodist Church founder John Wesley, Virginia Governor and Declaration signer Benjamin Harrison and French revolutionary Honoré Mirabeau. Found (and founded) in 1791 were the element Titanium, the U.S. Mint, the Bank of the United States and the State of Vermont.

THE CONNECTION –
Utah Symphony has performed The Magic Flute Overture countless times. It has been featured often on the Family, Chamber, Summer Series and Masterworks programs as well as the annual concert for children with autism. Utah has staged the full opera on three separate occasions – 1987, 1993, and 2006.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)       
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
I.     Molto allegro
II.     Andante
III.     Menuetto: Allegretto
IV.     Allegro assai

Instrumentation: flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings.
Duration: 35 minutes in four movements (with pauses).

THE COMPOSER –
Late in Mozart’s very short life, his financial circumstances were not at all comfortable. By mid-1788 he had moved from the center of Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund in search of cheaper rental rates. There is a sad selection of surviving letters from this period from Mozart to a fellow Mason in which he pleads for loans and other financial assistance. Personal difficulty did not lead to writer’s block in these last years, thankfully, as Mozart remained productive right to the end.      

THE MUSIC –
There is much of Mozart the opera composer in his late symphonies and in the Symphony No. 40 of 1788 we hear some of his most dramatic, emotionally charged music. Descriptions of the piece vary greatly. Robert Schumann called it a work of “weightless, Hellenic grace” while historian Charles Rosen called it “a work of passion, violence and grief.” There is great distance between Schumann’s Grecian lightness and the outright pathos of Rosen’s comment but little doubt that Mozart’s G-minor masterpiece is filled to its limits with vitality and expression. Mozart’s music is often noted for its superficiality, even while the genius and ease of his creativity is lauded. Symphony No. 40 is nothing if not an anecdote to this sort of thinking. Mozart not only shows his capacity for depth and darkness, he shines light on a new path later taken up in earnest by Beethoven, Bruckner and Mahler. There is an urgency in the score of No. 40 that is best captured by the late Michael Steinberg’s inspiring prose. “The first movement raises questions, posits instabilities, opens abysses.” Of the finale, he feels it “must at last be the force that stabilizes, sets solid ground under our feet, seeks to close wounds, and brings the voyager safely – if bruised – into port.”

THE CONTEXT –
1788 saw the formal implementation of the United States Constitution and Connecticut’s official entry into statehood. The city of Cincinnati had its beginnings as a few buildings were erected along the Ohio River. Elsewhere, France was in economic chaos as grain product plummets and prices soar. Russia gained support from Austria in her war with the Ottoman Empire.  

THE CONNECTION –
Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 has enjoyed no less than six appearances on the Utah Symphony Masterworks Series. The most recent performance was in 1999 under the direction of Jaime Laredo. Maestro Abravanel programmed it at least three times, dating as far back as 1948.