{"id":34950,"date":"2023-11-14T16:08:14","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T15:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e8f1c3f4-a08e-47c9-b76f-62c5cc3918f1"},"modified":"2023-11-17T14:41:14","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T13:41:14","slug":"mozarts-sinfonia-concertante-a-guide-to-this-beautiful-work-and-its-best-recordings","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/mozarts-sinfonia-concertante-a-guide-to-this-beautiful-work-and-its-best-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante: a guide to this beautiful work and its best recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Charlotte Smith\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 15:08 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Here’s a guide to the Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart’s lively, sometimes sorrowful, always beautiful concertante work for violin, viola and orchestra. We’ve also got, towards the end of the piece, a selection of the work’s best recordings.<\/p>

When did Mozart write the Sinfonia Concertante?<\/h2>
Though only in his early 20s when he wrote his Sinfonia Concertante K364, Mozart<\/a><\/strong> already had a very substantial number of works already on his CV. These include nine of his 27 piano concertos, all five of his violin concertos, more than 30 symphonies and a huge body of chamber music and solo keyboard works. And while big-hitters such as The Marriage of Figaro<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and Don Giovanni<\/a><\/strong> <\/em>were yet to come, opera featured strongly too. He was also well travelled, having toured Europe widely as a performer from childhood onwards \u2013 something that inevitably gave the Salzburg-born composer a certain Wanderlust<\/em>\u2026<\/p>
And the greatest opera of all time is…<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
In September of 1777, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then aged just 21, embarked on a journey to Mannheim by way of Munich and Augsburg in search of gainful employment, accompanied by his mother, Maria Anna. Mozart had recently been released from the services of Hieronymus Colloredo, the Archbishop of Salzburg, whose unpopular attempts to modernise court music practices had long been despised by his father, Leopold.<\/p>
Did the parents of our best-loved composers help or hinder them?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Despite concerted efforts to curry favour with the great and the good, however, the young composer\u2019s offer of services met refusals in all three cities, and so in February 1778 his father commanded that he travel to Paris, again with his mother in tow.<\/p>
When did Mozart’s mother die?<\/h2>
The trip was to be a tragic one. In June, Mozart\u2019s mother fell ill and notwithstanding the attentions of doctors, she died on 3 July \u2013 an outcome for which a grieving Leopold chose to blame his son in a series of accusatory letters, describing him as idle and careless. A month later, Leopold wrote again to Mozart to inform him that the archbishop was offering the post of court organist in Salzburg and an increase in salary.<\/p>
Despite the favourable conditions, the offer must have seemed a backwards step to the ambitious young musician, for he dallied for several months, again in Mannheim and Munich, before finally returning to Salzburg in January 1779. Among his new duties were playing in the cathedral, at court and in the chapel, training the choirboys and composing for the court and the cathedral.<\/p>
Although Mozart did compose several substantial works for the archbishop, including the \u2018Coronation\u2019 Mass K317 and Missa solemnis<\/em>, K337, it seems that his extra-curricular output was a source of dissatisfaction for Colloredo, who in 1782 appointed Michael Haydn to the post instead. Among the works that Mozart composed between 1779 and \u201982 were the Concerto for two pianos, K365, the Symphonies K318, 319 and 338, the \u2018Posthorn\u2019 Serenade, and the Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, K364.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><h2 id=\"h-what-is-a-sinfonia-concertante\">What is a sinfonia concertante?<\/h2><p>Such instrumental music held little value for Salzburg\u2019s court at the time, but it did reflect the tastes and practices to which Mozart had so recently been exposed on his travels. The sinfonia concertante was a musical form that blossomed from around 1770 to 1830, particularly, in its earlier iterations, in Paris. <\/p><p>A modernisation of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/baroque-music-guide\">Baroque<\/a><\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-concerto-grosso\">concerto grosso<\/a><\/strong>, which also calls for a solo instrumental group and orchestra, the Classical sinfonia concertante places more emphasis on the melodic line and on the soloists, who by this period were expected to demonstrate dazzling virtuosic display. Technically a \u2018symphony with important and extended solo parts\u2019, it resembles more closely a concerto.<\/p><p>During his 1778 stay in Paris and the following year, Mozart worked on six sinfonia concertantes \u2013 one for four wind instruments (K297b), another for two pianos (K365), a concerto for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-flute-solos-in-orchestral-works\">flute<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/what-is-a-harp\">harp<\/a><\/strong> in C, a fragment for piano and violin in D, another fragment for violin, viola and cello in A, and the masterpiece for violin and viola, K364 in E flat.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"Mozart: Sinfonia concertante, Mvmt. 2a - Vengerov, Power\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Coy5jddKKAk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Although it is impossible to know exactly Mozart\u2019s thoughts and impulses during the work\u2019s composition, it is tempting to read into it not only his exasperation at the stifling Salzburg court system, but also his grief over his mother\u2019s death and his frustrations towards his dictatorial and, at times, emotionally punishing father.<\/p><h2 id=\"h-what-are-the-soloists-in-mozart-s-sinfonia-concertante\">What are the soloists in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante?<\/h2><p>Mozart\u2019s interest in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-viola-music\">viola<\/a><\/strong> emerged around this time and was perhaps, suggests Patrick Mackie in <em>Mozart in Motion<\/em>, a deliberate attempt to distance himself from the violin, an instrument on which Leopold was regarded as an authority throughout Europe. Certainly, it is well known that by the mid-1780s, Mozart was playing the viola regularly alongside Haydn in their Vienna quartet.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-difference-between-violin-and-viola\">Violin vs viola: what’s the difference?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Mozart had, of course, written five wonderful violin concertos in 1773 and \u201975, which he performed himself, as most composers of his generation did. But the addition of the viola in the Sinfonia Concertante, a part that Mozart himself would almost certainly have taken, adds an extra, darker dimension.<\/p><h2 id=\"h-what-are-the-three-movements-of-mozart-s-sinfonia-concertante\">What are the three movements of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante?<\/h2><p>A strikingly mature composition for a 23 year-old, throughout the work\u2019s three movements \u2013 an opening <em>Allegro maestoso<\/em>, a deeply expressive C minor <em>Andante<\/em> and a sparkling, virtuosic <em>Presto<\/em> finale \u2013 the soloists engage in subtle interaction with the orchestra and each other. Most themes are introduced by the solo violin, only to be taken up in the viola\u2019s alto tones with a mixture of delicacy and robustness.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embedwrapper\"><iframe title=\"ZAGREB KOM 5 \u2022 W. A. Mozart: Sinfonia concertante, K 364 - 3. Presto\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lZd3f7h2l0A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>Indeed, it is the viola\u2019s range and character that define the work, Mozart playing beautifully on the instrument\u2019s occupation of that middle ground between the cello\u2019s melancholy depths and the bright dexterity of the violin. As such, the two soloists step forward almost tentatively from the orchestral introduction in the opening movement, and throughout the violin never seeks to school its larger cousin. As <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/charles-rosen-1927-2012\">Charles Rosen<\/a><\/strong> writes in <em>The Classical Style<\/em>: \u2018The very first chord gives the characteristic sound, which is like the sonority of the viola translated into the language of the full orchestra. The first chord alone is a milestone in Mozart\u2019s career.\u2019<\/p><p>Although it is generally accepted that Mozart composed the work for himself to play with the Salzburg concertmaster Antonio Brunetti, might he at some point have hoped to perform it with his father, as Mackie suggests? It\u2019s a tantalising prospect for a piece whose origins are maddeningly obscure \u2013 although we have a sketch for the first movement cadenza, the autograph has disappeared. Yet the piece nevertheless remains to this day the greatest concerto for violin and viola, by turns lively, sorrowful and undeniably beautiful.<\/p><h2 id=\"h-mozart-sinfonia-concertante-best-recordings\">Mozart Sinfonia Concertante best recordings<\/h2><h3 id=\"h-best-recording\">Best recording<\/h3><p><strong>Vilde Frang (violin), Maxim Rysanov (viola)<br\/><\/strong>Arcangelo \/ Jonathan Cohen<br\/>Warner 0825646276776<\/p><p>Following three albums of reliably Romantic fare, Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang finally lent her lean and nimble technique to a recording of Mozart in 2015. The disc followed a 2012 tour of Asia with period ensemble Arcangelo conducted by Jonathan Cohen \u2013 their vibrant collaboration in the Fifth Concerto was a musical partnership that both Frang and Cohen were eager to commit to posterity on disc.<\/p><p>We should all rejoice that they did \u2013 and even more so that they added to the mix Ukrainian violist Maxim Rysanov in the Sinfonia Concertante, one of the few violists alive today capable of matching Frang\u2019s impish weightlessness and expressive sense of freedom while negotiating his instrument\u2019s more awkward fingerboard.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-purple-m101-price-comparsion\"><div class=\"m101\" data-type=\"price-comparison\" data-template=\"default\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B00PX8DF9C\/ref=dm_rwp_pur_lnd_albm_hd\" data-title=\"Vilde Frang Mozart\" data-config=\"{"searchKeywords":"Mozart Sinfonia Concertante Vilde Frang","excludeKeywords":"","price":"11.69","delta":"1","limit":"4"}\"\/><\/div><p>Of course, the two aren\u2019t tonal and stylistic carbon copies \u2013 nor would we want them to be. In the first movement, Frang is both crisp and Classically delicate, but with a warm, Romantic sweetness. Rysanov, on the other hand, is elegant and slightly more legato in his approach, with an underlying groundedness that helps to anchor Frang to this mortal plane.<\/p><h4 id=\"h-a-joyful-account\">A joyful account<\/h4><p>In the <em>Andante<\/em>, both players are more indulgent and somehow earthier, wringing every ounce from the movement\u2019s plaintive sensibility, with Rysanov making the most of his instrument\u2019s deeper sonority. The cadenza here is particularly fine, the lines flowing seamlessly from violin to viola and back again, while dynamic control is second to none; the two don\u2019t shy away from barely-there <em>pianissimos<\/em>.<\/p><p>And finally in the third movement <em>Presto<\/em>, Frang skips away like some mischievous sprite, with Rysanov hot on her heels, rather wondrously almost matching her agility with ease, while contributing a much needed robustness where required.<\/p><p>Throughout, the wiry, minimally vibrated period sound of Arcangelo feels wholly appropriate to the work\u2019s character and style. Speeds are generally on the brisk side, particularly when compared to a vast array of tempo choices in an even more daunting array of recorded interpretations \u2013 from Menuhin and Primrose to the Oistrakhs to Perlman and Zukerman. (For staggeringly indulgent tempos at the opposite end of the spectrum, try Maxim Vengerov and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-is-lawrence-power\">Lawrence Power<\/a><\/strong> with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in 2006). Yet although a sense of stately elegance is perhaps sacrificed in the name of energy and excitement, it\u2019s a more than worthy trade-off in this joyful account.<\/p><h3 id=\"h-three-more-great-recordings\">Three more great recordings<\/h3><p><strong>Julia Fischer (violin), Gordan Nikolic (viola)<\/strong><\/p><p>Another brisk interpretation, this 2007 recording from a 24-year-old Fischer and then-London Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Nikolic moonlighting in the viola role, wears its bristling energy on its sleeve from the first propulsive orchestra chord. <\/p><p>Fischer is a sinuous and muscular technician, yet with bags of sensitivity, fine articulation and musical colour. Nikolic matches her at every turn, always attuned and agile, yet with a slightly more relaxed attitude to phrasing. Under Yakov Kreizberg, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is energetic and unsentimental \u2013 in the best possible way. (<em>Pentatone PTC5186098<\/em>)<\/p><p><strong>Gidon Kremer (violin), Kim Kashkashian (viola)<\/strong><\/p><p>Back now to 1984, and the glorious pairing of violinist Kremer and violist Kashkashian with a sumptuous sounding Vienna Philharmonic under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. This is an altogether more expansive interpretation, the large orchestral forces taking time to savour phrases and to present the opening material in a bold, stately manner. <\/p><p>When the soloists enter, they are expressive and lyrical, taking their time to sing through every line. In the <em>Andante<\/em> their fragility plays effectively against the powerful orchestra, held in check by Harnoncourt, while the <em>Presto<\/em> is pure joy. (<em>DG 413 4612<\/em>)<\/p><p><strong>Iona Brown (violin), Lars Anders Tomter (viola)<\/strong><\/p><p>This burnished 1995 version from violinist-director Iona Brown has balance at its core \u2013 between Brown and her fellow soloist, viola player Tomter; between soloists and orchestra; and between orchestral sections, which are beautifully delineated. <\/p><p>The tempo is majestic, never rushed yet always with a sense of forward momentum. And though soloists on other recordings mentioned above achieve more beauty of tone in the outer movements, the central <em>Andante <\/em>is a tour de force, tapping into a poignant, elemental despair that other, flashier players miss. (<em>Chandos CHAN10507X<\/em>)<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Charlotte Smith Published: Tuesday, 14 November 2023 at 15:08 PM Here’s a guide to the Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart’s lively, sometimes sorrowful, always beautiful concertante work for violin, viola and orchestra. We’ve also got, towards the end of the piece, a selection of the work’s best recordings. When did Mozart write the Sinfonia Concertante? 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We’ve also got, towards the end of the piece, a selection of the work’s best recordings. When did Mozart write the Sinfonia Concertante? Though…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/34950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}