Symphony No. 35 (Mozart)

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The Symphony No. 35, better known as the Haffner Symphony, is one of the most famous symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the catalog of works compiled by Ludwig van Köchel it is K. 385. The "Haffner" name comes from the name of a family that also commissioned a serenade. The Symphony was commissioned for the occasion of Sigmund Haffner's ennoblement. Mozart is said to have worked all night to complete the symphony. The Haffner Symphony, however, should not be confused with the Serenade, as the two are entirely different pieces, although it is true that Mozart adapted the serenade into a symphony-style work because of the serenade's popularity ([1]). Most of Mozart's serenades, notturnos, and divertimenti, like other similarly-titled works of the time, have more than four movements, the usual four movements of a symphonic-style work being augmented often enough by a second minuet and a second slow movement. The Symphony No. 35 dates from 1782.

It is in D major, and is in four movements:

1. Allegro con spirito
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Finale (Presto)

There is a report of a concert from March 1783 in which Mozart opened matters with the first three movements of this symphony, an aria from Idomeneo (described in his letter to his father of March 29 that year as his Munich opera), a piano concerto, a scena (a genre related to the concert aria), the concertante movements of one of his recent serenades, his piano concerto K. 175 (with a new finale)— and another scena (from an opera he'd composed for Milan); at this point he improvised a fugue "because the Emperor was present" and then two sets of variations (K. 398 on an aria by Paisiello and K. 455 on an aria by Gluck). After this Madame (Aloysia) Lange sang his new rondo (K. 416?) and then to finish the concert, the last movement of the symphony.

[edit] References

• Einstein, Alfred, Mozart: His Character, His Work. Translated by Arthur Mendel and Nathan Broder. London ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1945. (Quote from page 230.)
• Liner Notes from Universal Classics issue of the Haffner Symphony performed by the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Karl Böhm.