Symphony No. 27 in G Major, K. 199 is sunny, youthful music of the 17-year-old Mozart.
Completed in April of 1773, it is among a group of four symphonies Mozart wrote after returning home to Salzburg following his second trip to Italy. (His opera, Lucio Silla, was being performed in Milan). Two months later, Mozart and his father would set out for the imperial capital of Vienna.
Scored for two flutes, two horns, and strings, with the omission of oboes and trumpets, Symphony No. 27 is charming, light, and intimate. Unfolding in three movements, without a minuet-trio, it returns to an older symphonic format which grew out of the Italian overture.
The first movement (Allegro) begins with a vigorous musical “call to order” in the form of four vibrant G major chords. The joyfully dancing first theme, introduced by the violins and flutes, is propelled forward by an exhilarating rhythmic motor in the low strings. Rather than a well-defined development section, as we hear in later symphonies, the movement’s middle section unfolds as a dramatic transition.
The second movement (Andantino grazioso) begins as a gentle courtly dance. Muted violins, soon brightened by the flutes, are accompanied by pizzicato. The cheerful melody is interrupted by sudden shadows with a mysterious recurring deceptive cadence.
The final movement (Presto) is based on a four-note fragment (G, C, F-sharp, G) from the first movement’s opening theme. Joyful and celebratory, it rings out in various voices throughout the orchestra, appearing as a fugue subject in search of a fugue which never materializes. Instead, this occasionally comic music unfolds as a brisk, frolicking waltz in 3/8 time.
I. Allegro:
II. Andantino grazioso:
III. Presto:
Recordings
- Mozart: Symphony No. 27 in G Major, K. 199, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert Amazon
- Sir Charles Mackerras and the Prague Chamber Orchestra
Featured Image: springtime magnolia blossoms in Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart, photograph by B. Brunauer