Sunday, March 6, 2022

CLXXXVI. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: Symphony #52 in C Major, K. 102

CLXXXVI. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)

Symphony #52 in C Major, K. 102 (1775)
1. Molto allegro
2. Andantino
3. Presto assai
The Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood, cond.
(8:12)


Whoa, whoa -- hold on there!

Everyone knows Mozart only wrote 41 symphonies. What is this, some newly discovered manuscript?

No, it's just a hash-up Mozart put together; the first two movements are taken pretty much verbatim from the overture to his opera Il re pastore, K. 208 and the first aria; the third movement was newly composed at the time, it is believed.

Symphonies like this were given numbers between 42 and 56 ...

The movements are played without pause ...






















The second movement is a rewriting of the first aria of the opera, Intendo, amico rio. The castrato voice is replaced by the oboe.






















The third movement is a delightful Presto.

Although not a true symphony from the official catalogue, this piece nevertheless introduces an audience to Il re pastore and still retains all the charm of one of the great Forty-Ones ...



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