Mozart Symphony 40 Essay

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I chose to write about Symphony No.40, first movement by Mozart because of the unusual two extreme emotions that the piece invokes. The opening with the violin is very dark, fast-pace and thrilling yet it is joyful and soothing to the ears every time the theme repeats. The symphony’s mood is captivating by showing the struggle between agony and happiness, which are two extreme ways of looking at the musical piece.

The first movement of the symphony, as in all symphonies is in sonata form. The piece opens with Molto allegro tempo in a minor key (G minor) with violins and an intense yet comforting structured theme that repeats itself throughout the movement. The meter here is duple, and it remains constant throughout the movement, which is a feature of classical music. The instruments used in this movement include: strings (violins, violas, cellos) and woodwinds (flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons).

The first part in the sonata form is the exposition (A), which presents the main material to be used in the movement. The piece opens with a viola accompaniment that supports the violin. The fast-pace, high-pitch opening gives a feeling of anxiety and edginess to the music. The piece progresses to the second phrase, where woodwinds instruments are added to the piece. Then the piece goes back to the first phrase with the woodwind instruments …show more content…

The first violin phrase is played again in piano with fluctuating rhythm in the background played by violas. The piece moves to Phrase 2 where woodwinds join and move the music from piano to forte for a few seconds, then phrase 1 is modulated with accompaniment of the woodwinds. Then in the transition, the piece goes back to the tonic key (first key) and switches between upper and lower strings, and ending in sustained chords with the addition of woodwinds instruments in subito forte. The piece jumps to the second theme presented initially in the