The Symphony in F major, K. Anh. 223/19a, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart probably in early 1765 in London during the Mozart family's grand tour.

General

In the early 1980s, a set of orchestral parts in Leopold Mozart's handwriting for the Symphony K. Anh. 223 or K. 19a, which was previously believed to be lost, was found in Munich. The work's existence was previously known, on the one hand, from the incipit of the first movement on a cover that contained the autograph of Symphony K. 19 (along with the beginning of a symphony in C major, presumably K. 19b, which remains lost to this day). Additionally, the incipit was listed in a catalog by the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel.

The symphony was presumably performed as the opening piece for one of the concerts on February 21 or May 13, 1765, at the Haymarket Theatre during Mozart's London tour. The first performance since its rediscovery took place on March 23, 1981, at the opening of the new building of the Neue Pinakothek in Munich.

About the Music

Instrumentation: two oboes, two horns in F, two violins, viola, cello, double bass. In contemporary orchestras, it was also customary to use a bassoon and harpsichord (if available in the orchestra) to reinforce the bass line or as a continuo, even without separate notation. It is noteworthy that in this symphony, Mozart wrote out the chords for the harpsichord as a thorough figured bass, which he otherwise almost never did.

Performance time: approx. 12–14 minutes.

Regarding the terms used here in reference to sonata form, it should be noted that this schema was devised in the first half of the 19th century and can therefore only be applied to this symphony with limitations. The first and second movements correspond more to a two-part form, in which the second part is seen as a modified run-through of the first ("exposition"). The description and structuring of the movements provided here should be understood as a suggestion. Depending on one's point of view, other delineations and interpretations are also possible.

First Movement: Allegro assai
F major, 4/4 time, 93 bars

The movement opens with a brilliant, expansive melody in the first violin, which is given a broad, spacious timbre by sustained wind chords and tremolo from the other strings. This "first theme" is eight bars long, with four-bar antecedent and consequent phrases, the antecedent having a fanfare-like quality. The transition to the second theme (bars 9–18) consists of two motifs that appear in staggered fashion in the strings. The first has a strong, march-like character, the second a droning one. After chordal strikes on the dominant C major and a caesura in the form of a quarter rest, the second theme enters in piano (bar 19 ff.). It is structured on the "question (piano) – answer (forte-tutti)" principle, is repeated, and then transitions into a passage with tremolo in the violins and broken chords in the bass. The closing group (bar 31 ff.) contains two suspension motifs and ends the first part of the movement ("exposition") in bar 40 with chordal strikes on C.

The second part of the movement begins with the first theme in the dominant C major. The antecedent phrase is extended to five bars here, and instead of the consequent phrase, a tremolo modulation passage follows, which leads back to C major with dominant-sounding seventh chords over C minor, D major, G minor, and F major. A new motif, not present in the exposition, follows in bar 51 in the first oboe (ascending) and is taken up from bar 54 by the violins (descending). It is preceded by a march-like tone repetition in a dotted rhythm. The following imitative motif, corresponding to bars 9 ff., is now in G minor, as is the subsequent "droning motif." In bar 67, there is a shift from G minor to F major. The rest of the movement's course structurally corresponds to that of the exposition. Both parts of the movement are repeated.

Wolfgang Gersthofer highlights the Allegro assai as "perhaps the most convincing opening movement in Mozart's first group of symphonies."

Second Movement: Andante
B-flat major, 2/4 time, 60 bars, without oboes

The movement is kept in piano throughout. The strings dominate, while the horns accompany with sustained chords or brief splashes of color. Although the "first theme" is based merely on a simple figure with an anacrustic thirty-second-note flourish and tone repetition, it gets its characteristic timbre from the pizzicato, also in the viola, which accompanies with broken chords similar to a mandolin, and the detached, grounding bass notes. After the theme is repeated, the "second theme" immediately follows in the dominant key of F major (bar 9 ff.), which also has a flourish-like character but is distinguished by the "mumbling" accompaniment of the second violin and viola (continuous sixteenth notes). In the closing group (bar 20 ff.) with the same accompaniment, the first violin plays a simple, song-like legato downward movement over a pedal point on F in the horn and bass. The first part ends at bar 24 and is repeated.

The second part (bar 25 ff.) begins with the first theme in the dominant F major, but its repetition is in G minor. From bar 33, a new, dragging motif follows, also in G minor, with a second step up and down, which appears in a staggered fashion in the violins and viola/bass and is led downwards once (bar 37 ff.). In bar 40, the "recapitulation" begins with the first theme in the tonic B-flat major, which is structurally identical to the exposition except for the omission of the first theme's repetition. In its overall structure, the Andante is designed similarly to the first movement.

The special atmosphere of the movement is also emphasized by Neal Zaslaw: "Despite its simple structure and conventional themes, this movement develops a sophistication and élan that are astonishing for a composer of childhood age."

Third Movement: Presto
F major, 3/8 time, 104 bars

The movement is structured as a rondo:

• Refrain or Motive A: Bars 1–8 with a fanfare-like beginning (upbeat + broken F major chord) and a sixteenth-note run – "answer," both in string unison. Neal Zaslaw feels reminded of bagpipe music here and suspects Mozart wanted to flatter the English audience.

• First Couplet: Bars 9–32 with two motifs ("B and C") in the dominant C major: the first detached and ascending, the second with a pendulum-like character.

• Refrain: Bars 33–48 with a continuation of Motive A into G minor.

• Second Couplet: Bars 49–64 as a variation of the first couplet: Motive B in G minor, shifting to F major from bar 57. Surprisingly, the head motif of the refrain appears from bar 64 but gets stuck in a chromatic embellishment of C (bars 67/68), starts again, and then fades out in a chromatic pendulum motion around C in pianissimo (bar 71 ff.). After a short grand pause, the pendulum motif then enters in an energetic forte in the tonic F major. Mozart also used such surprise effects later, for example, in the final movements of his violin concertos or Symphony K. 201.

• Refrain: Bar 93 ff. as at the beginning, the movement ends with chordal melody. The sections from bars 1–8 and 9–104 are repeated.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony,_K._19a_(Mozart) / License: CC BY-SA 4.0