W. A.

Mozart
Volume 5: CD 1 string Quintets KV 174 & 406

Mozart had written his set of six String Quartets K168-K173 probably in the hope of
getting work at the Court in Vienna in 1773. Although the attempt to obtain work
was unsuccessful, the visit was highly significant in other ways: Mozart came under
the influence of Haydn, and his skills as a composer increased partly due to the
practise Mozart had in writing these six quartets.

Mozart’s search for work took him to Mannheim where he fell under the influence of
the Mannheim School built around the superb orchestra of the County Elector as
well as Paris and Vienna, where he eventually settled in 1781, well away from the
unhappy pressures of his native Salzburg and his patron Archbishop Colloredo.
The following period from 1782 was an enormously significant one for Mozart: he
married Constanze Weber, wrote the first of his “Haydn” Quartets, and his first child
was born in 1783. Around this time, he also became more and more deeply involved
with Freemasonry.

In the gap between finishing K168 to K173 and composing the set of six string
quartets dedicated to Haydn (published by Artaria in 1785), Mozart was not idle: he
visited Munich where he was commissioned to write his opera ‘La Finta Giardiniera’,
which brought him success and accolades (‘wonderful genius’ amongst others.)
He returned to Salzburg, which, after his visits to Italy and Vienna, and particularly
the adulation he received as a child prodigy, must have seemed provincial in the
extreme. Most confining of all was the post of Concert-master for the Archbishop of

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Salzburg, Hieronymus Colloredo. Mozart’s father encouraged him to refine his violin
playing, resulting in the composition of several violin concertos around that time.
However, the recently invented ‘pianoforte’ fired Mozart’s imagination rather more
than the violin, and he wrote a number of piano concertos, as well as organ sonatas,
symphonies and masses, as well as many soprano arias, and his opera ‘Die
Entführung aus dem Serail’. Mozart finally settled in Vienna in 1781, and in the
ensuing ten years, he composed his most mature works, married Constanze Weber,
his children were born and he became more involved with Free Masonry, all of which
added to his inspiration.

The first of Mozart’s six String Quintets dates from the period of the Quartets
mentioned above and must be considered apart from the other Quintets, all of which
come from Mozart’s final years. Like the Quartets, KV174 was composed on Salzburg
and in the Spring of the year 1773. Despite this, by December of that year, Mozart
had revised the work considerably by substituting a new trio into the Minuet and by
altering the final movement considerably. The reason for the composition of the
piece, like so many works of Mozart, is unknown although it is possible that both
Haydn and Boccherini may have been an influence in this beginning of composition
on a new form (the Italian composed well over one hundred such Quintets).

The first Quintet is in B flat major and consists of four movements. The first
movement is an Allegro moderato which at times seems to veer towards being a
simple Quartet where the cello part is often silent although Mozart seems to enjoy
writing for his viola part in particular. This is followed by an Adagio in which the
violins and violas remain muted throughout and the cello remains always “sempre
piano”. The Minuet and Trio that follows makes use of echo effects and the final
Allegro is an example of sonata form with extensive contrapuntal episodes.

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The second of the Quintets (KV406) on this CD is the one in C minor and dates
from a whole thirteen years after the first; technically it would be referred to as the
Fourth Quintet, following KV515 and 516. Not that Mozart had been idle in this time
but it is perhaps surprising that KV406 (or as it has been latterly reassigned KV516b)
is not an original work, but a rescoring of the wind Octet (KV388). The transposition
was a simple one and it allowed Mozart to add a third Quintet to the two he had
been writing in 1788 without the effort of starting from scratch - whenever the
original wind version proved problematical, such as with some of the horn writing,
Mozart merely deleted the offending passage. Despite the success of the original wind
version, this new Quintet had little success originally and was published until 1792. It
is again in four movements with two outer Allegros framing an Andante and a
canonic Minuet.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 2 String Quintets KV 515 & 593

In 1786, the Marriage of Figaro was first performed in Prague, where Mozart was
much more celebrated than in his chosen home city of Vienna. His father Leopold
was delighted to witness the quality of this opera, and thrilled by the success it
brought his son. During the previous few years, Leopold had disapproved of
Mozart’s life style, and his marriage to Constanze, but Mozart dearly loved his father,
and the real affection between them never waned. Mozart’s rich spiritual life and
mature philosophy of the brotherhood of man gained or cemented through his
membership of Freemasonry, was partly due to the contemporary thinking in Vienna,
but surely much of this must have been due to the upbringing he had. There had

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always been a sense of fun in the Mozart household, but also a great drive to be one’s
best, and to look to the higher things in life.

In spite of the great success of Figaro, Mozart’s finances were not healthy. The
composer would have just been paid for the composition, and in those days there
were no royalties, so no matter how successful a piece was, and how often it was
performed, the composer did not benefit financially to any great extent. But, Mozart
was in his creative prime, and continued to compose numerous works, constantly
refining and developing his ideas. Mozart’s life, reflected so well in his music, was
one of fascinating contrasts: he could be frivolous and sparkling as demonstrated in
the many letters to his sister and his wife. Constanze was no intellectual, but this did
not seem to put a strain on their emotional relationship: she was a companion full of
fun, who could laugh with him, and entertain him in the bedroom. Mozart was a
man of paradoxes which are fully embodied in all his compositions. The apparent
transparency of some of his works belies the depth of feeling underneath, but
occasionally the real passion surges to the surface, leaving the listener in no doubt
that Mozart had a great and noble mind.

The two Quintets on this disc date from Mozart’s final years, an early example of the
genre having been written in 1773, after which Mozart had composed no further
Quintet until the series of KV515, 516 and 406(516b) of 1787. The C major Quintet
(KV515) was completed on 19th April, to be followed only weeks later by KV516 on
16th May. As mentioned above, the masterwork that is “Figaro” was now behind
Mozart and ahead was to be the much darker world of “Don Giovanni”. It is that later
opera which perhaps throw light on the styles of the two Quintets of the Spring of
1787.

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Unlike KV516, the C major work is generally an untroubled work. It is in four
movements with both the opening and closing movements marked simply Allegro: in
between come an Andante and a Minuet and Trio. Despite the approach of “Don
Giovanni” it is “Figaro” which pervades the opening Allegro. The Andante is a fine
dialogue between the first violin and viola to the accompaniment of the other strings.
The following Minuet is notable for the length of its trio section and finally, Mozart
rounds off the piece with what is his single longest instrumental movement, a
mixture of Rondo and Sonata forms.

The D major Quintet (KV593) is Mozart’s penultimate work in the form and was the
result of a commission from an anonymous Hungarian admirer and although the
work follows the usual four movement plans of the earlier Quintets, its opening
movement is somewhat unique in its juxtaposition of Larghetto and Allegro sections.
The following Adagio takes ideas from the opening Larghetto and the Minuet and
trio is one of Mozart’s finest movements of its type. The final Allegro opens with a
difficult chromatic figure, simplified on publication and builds up to several fugato
movements, some of Mozart’s most masterly writing for the Quintet.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 3 String Quintets KV 516 & 614

From about 1788 onwards, Mozart had been beset with financial difficulties, to the
point where he wrote begging letters to his friends, who, although generous in their
support, could not entirely fund the composers life style. Mozart’s productivity was
affected by worry, and his major creative output started to decline in quantity, if not

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in quality. Constanze’s continuing ill-health added to the financial burden, with
doctor’s bills and visits to Spas to be paid for. However, he was given 100 Friedrichs
d’Or for the Prussian quartets in Berlin, and with that came an offer of a post, which
Mozart declined, it is said out of loyalty to the Viennese. In spite of all these
difficulties, Mozart continued to innovate and to challenge musical boundaries. The
quartets K589 and K590, whilst still forming part of the three ‘Prussian’ quartets, had
a less prominent part for the cello than their predecessor, K575.

Mozart’s first String Quintet had been written as early as 1773, after which he left the
form for another thirteen years when he had already left his home town of Salzburg
and settled in Vienna. By this time, he was a fully mature composer with some of his
finest works already behind him and more to come. Why Mozart decided, after such a
long gap, to return to the idea of the String Quintet is unsure, it has even been
suggested that the death of Frederick the Great and the accession of his amateur
cellist successor may have spurred Mozart into writing the Quintets. Mozart would
also have noticed that Boccherini, a major composer of Quintets, had been made the
new Prussian Court Composer. Whatever the real reason may be, Mozart wrote a
further five Quintets for Strings in the period from April 1787 to April 1791. Despite
the quality of the works Mozart was producing in Vienna, he was hounded by
poverty and he offered three of his Quintets on a subscription basis in April 1788,
hoping thereby to raise some money for his family and himself.

The G minor Quintet (KV516) immediately follows its predecessor and makes up
something of a pair for whereas the earlier C major Quintet is a mellow and trouble
free piece, the G minor Quintet is sombre and grave. Originally conceived in A
minor, Mozart was unhappy with his choice of key and reverted to the more usual G
minor. It is this Quintet which was always the most often played of the set, somehow

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catching the imagination of the listener with its thread of melancholy.

Like all the Quintets, KV516 is in four movements with two outer fast movements
framing a slow movement and a Minuet. The opening of the first movement already
sets the mood of melancholy and tiredness and the movement remains one in mood,
interrupted only by passages of turmoil. The Minuet which follows is, like the first
movement, in G minor although the mood lightens a little for a G major trio. The
slow movement in E flat has the strings muted throughout whereas the Finale begins
with an Adagio introduction which builds to an unbearable stress before the 6/8
Allegro proper which even with its outward jollity cannot dismiss the mood of
despair of the Quintet entirely.

The sixth and final Quintet is in E flat major and follows the same four movement
plan as the others. This time however, the opening Allegro di molto opens with the
viola solo and as the movement progresses, the other instruments seem to be given
the role of bravura ornamentation. The Andante slow movement is a free set of
variations which seems almost to be a concerto movement in miniature. The Minuet
has a trio based on the Laendler dance and seems to echo closely the music of
Mozart’s great friend and mentor, Joseph Haydn. Haydn’s spirit is never far away in
the Finale either which is again a mixture of Rondo and Sonata form and which sets
the seal on the Quintet form and indeed the chamber music for strings under
Mozart’s pen.

Dr. David Doughty

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Volume 5: CD 4 String Trio KV 563
For most of the mid to late 1780‘s, Mozart was beset with financial difficulties, to the
point where he wrote begging letters to his friends, who, although generous in their
support, could not entirely fund the composers life style. Mozart’s productivity was
affected by worry, and his major creative output started to decline in quantity, if not
in quality. His wife, Constanze’s continuing ill-health added to the financial burden,
with doctor’s bills and visits to various health Spas for water cures to be paid for.
However, he was given 100 Friedrichs d’Or for his Prussian String Quartets in Berlin,
and with that came an offer of a post, which Mozart declined, it is said out of loyalty
to the Viennese. In spite of all these difficulties, Mozart continued to innovate and to
challenge musical boundaries.
It is worth dwelling on the legacy that Mozart left the world with his string quartets
and other chamber works for strings and solo instruments. He himself played both
violin and viola in chamber music, the most intimate musical expression between
fellow spirits. Perhaps in the chamber music above all, is found the real Mozart: the
long development of the quartets from the early K80, written when he was fourteen,
to K590, written in the year before he died, display the internal workings of Mozart’s
genius as do the late chamber works such as the Clarinet Quintet and the five late
String Quintets. He dazzles the listener and player alike with the sheer inventiveness
of the compositions. Mozart mined every aspect of chamber forms for every last
nugget of inventiveness. There are variations on melodies, canonic imitation, fugal
writing, different textures, operatic arias, stagy dramatic chords. In addition to this,
Mozart was aware of the technical aspects of the instruments he was writing for. He
loved to challenge the player as well as the listener, pushing everything to its artistic
extreme, writing in ways that were often extremely forward looking, but he did this
seamlessly, incorporating the musical traditions he was born into.
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With such a wider range of compositions for chamber groupings, it is perhaps
surprising that Mozart only wrote one trio for strings. True, he composed a series of
successful piano trios with strings but KV563, completed on September 27th 1788, is
the sole example of its genre in his output. Historically, this unique work comes
between the “Hoffmeister” Quartet and the first of the Prussian Quartets and shares
the same year as Mozart’s last three symphonies.

There is one predecessor to this trio in the incomplete fragment that is KV Anh 66 in
G major but the Trio here under consideration is one of those works that Mozart
wrote as a debt of gratitude to one of his patrons and friends, this time his brother
Freemason, Michael Puchberg. After its premiere in 1788, it was repeated in Dresden
where Mozart claimed “it was played quite decently”.

This is not a Trio in the conventional sense but actually a Divertimento spanning as
many as six movements (sei pezzi). Neither can it be considered as an open air work
for performance as some of his other Divertimenti and serenades, this is a true
chamber work that possibly outgrew its original conception. The movements consist
of an opening Allegro followed by a slow movement and Minuet with Trio but then
instead of moving into a Finale, another slow movement and a second Minuet and
two trios follow before the final Allegro. The second of the slow movements is
differentiated from the first by its form of variations on a theme just as the second
Minuet has its double trio format to contrast with the earlier movement. The music
is always of the highest of standards with a serious aspect to the opening Allegro, a
breadth and depth of feeling to the Adagio and one of the most amiable of all his
final Allegros. Each of the instruments is given its own due weight and the Trio is no
less than one of Mozart’s great late chamber masterworks.

Dr. David Doughty

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Volume 5: CD 5 Duos KV 423-424 Trio KV 266

In the dozen or so years between finishing his six String Quartets (K168 to K173),
which he wrote in Vienna in 1773, and composing the set of six string quartets
dedicated to Haydn (published by Artaria in 1785), Mozart was not idle: he visited
Munich where he was commissioned to write his opera ‘La Finta Giardiniera’, which
brought him success and accolades (‘wonderful genius’ amongst others.) He
returned to Salzburg, which, after his visits to Italy and Vienna, and particularly the
adulation he received as a child prodigy, must have seemed provincial in the extreme.
Most confining of all was the post of Concert-master for the Archbishop of Salzburg,
Hieronymus von Colloredo. Mozart’s father Leopold encouraged him to refine his
violin playing, resulting in the composition of several violin concertos around that
time. However, the recently invented ‘pianoforte’ fired Mozart’s imagination rather
more than the violin, and he wrote a number of piano concertos, as well as organ
sonatas, symphonies and masses, as well as many soprano arias, and his opera ‘Die
Entfuehrung aus dem Serail’. Mozart finally settled in Vienna in 1781, and in the
ensuing ten years, he composed his most mature works, married Constanze Weber,
his children were born and he became more involved with Freemasonry, all of which
added to his inspiration.

At the time when Mozart was busy refining the art of String Quartet writing and
creating some of the great masterpieces of the genre, he also took time to compose
two inspired works for the smaller combination of violin and viola. These are the
little known, but highly accomplished Duos in G major (KV423) and B flat major
(KV424). At the time, in 1783, Mozart was close to the composer Michael Haydn and
it has been suggested that Mozart wrote these two Duos to complete a set of six for
his friend and colleague who had fallen ill at the time. The story is distinctly

10
apocryphal but it is likely that Michael Haydn’s work on his own Duos may have
prompted Mozart to try his hand at the form also.

There is a clear relationship between Mozart’s two small masterworks and the sets of
Duos by both Joseph Haydn (six in all) and by Michael Haydn (the four mentioned
above), all written in the 1770’s. All are written in three movement form with a
central slow movement and conclude with a Rondo or a Minuet. But in the case of
the Duos by the two Haydns, there is little of character other than a solo violin part
with a viola accompaniment, quite different from Mozart’s truly integrated duet
form. Mozart’s two pieces were composed in Salzburg and represent an amazing
development from the earlier works.

Mozart avoids the problems of a lack of bass line in his works by allowing his two
soloists to have equal weight in a texture which sounds distinctly fuller than two solo
stringed instruments would normally be expected to achieve. Both of the Duos are in
the conventional ternary form with slow movements that are truly deep in feeling. Just
as Haydn had done before him, Mozart concludes the B flat Duo with a set of variations
and also like Haydn, Mozart keeps those intense middle movements short. These are
works of a master musician, too often ignored simply because of the apparent simplicity
of their form but forever revealing new depths of charm and lyricism.

The present disc is completed by an incomplete two movement Sonata in B flat

written in Salzburg during the spring of 1777 just before Mozart’s final Grand Tour
of Europe. It is, despite its early date, a charming piece with a noteworthy second
movement Minuet.

Dr. David Doughty

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Rémy Baudet, violin
Rémy Baudet is Concertmaster of The Orchestra of the 18-th Century (Frans
Brüggen, conductor) and the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra. He is active in
various chamber music ensembles, such as “Musica Classica”, “Le Zéphyre” ,“Musica
Amphion” and the “New Esterhazy Quartet”. He played with such groups as “Al Ayre
Español”, the “Balthasar Neumann Ensemble” and “Les Tempéraments Baroques”.
He is conductor of the Resonet Ensemble. As a soloist he played with many
orchestras. He taught violin, chamber music, history and art history at several schools
and conservatories. He is the author of a book on the development of violin playing
between 1780 and 1880. He plays a Giovanni Grancino, Milano 1695, and a bow by
John Dodd.

Marten Boeken, viola

At the age of 18 Marten Boeken was already violin player in La Petite Bande of
Sigiswald Kuijken. He worked with René Jacobs, Philip Herreweghe, Cantus Köln and
Camerata Trajectina, but also with Nedley Elstak’s Paradise Regained Orchestra. He
founded the ensemble L’Chayim, of which he is artistic director. He plays the viol in
Early Music repertoire. He is viola player in The Orchestra of the 18-th Century.

Staas Swierstra, violin/viola

Staas Swierstra is Baroque violinist of the first hour. He worked with Lucy van Dael,
Sigiswald Kuijken and Gustav Leonhardt. For many years he played in La Petite
Bande, La Chapelle Royale and other groups. As a chamber music player he played
with Anner Bijlsma and Frans Brüggen, and he gave concerts and master classes as far
as Australia and Japan. He is first violinist of The Orchestra of the 18-th Century and
solo viola player of De Nederlandse Bach Vereniging.

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Rainer Zipperling, cello
After his school years Rainer Zipperling began his studies of Music and Musicology.
His love for baroque music led him to The Netherlands, the pioneer country of the
so-called “authentic performance practice”. He played with important musicians such
as Sigiswald and Bart Kuijken, Frans Brüggen and Gustav Leonhardt.
At present he counts among the most important cellists in the field of Early Music.
He played with numerous ensembles and made over 250 recordings as a soloist and
chamber music player. He teaches at the Hochschule of Köln and Frankfurt, and gives
regularly master courses. He also publishes unknown compositions for cello.

Volume 5: CD 6 Preludes & Fugues KV 404a

Johann Sebastian Bach holds a position quite unique in the annals of music before
Mozart as simply the greatest and most prolific composer of his time. Like Mozart, he
was adept at writing for various instruments and in various forms from the grandeur
of the Passion settings and B minor Mass through an enormous series of Church
Cantatas for the religious feasts of the year to the more intimate concertos, suites and
music for solo instruments. Few listeners will be unaware of the Suite, Sonatas and
Partitas for keyboard, cello and violin and none will have failed to come up against
the series of forty eight preludes and fugues that go under the title of “The Well
tempered Clavier”. Bach’s sons carried on this musical tradition, some more
noteworthily than others and it is known that Mozart was influenced by the works of
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, close to his own time.

During most of his own lifetime, J S Bach was principally known as a keyboard player
and a great improvisor both on the harpsichord and on the organ as well as being

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something of a technician for the instruments he played. Bach was both an innovator
and a teacher and nowhere is this blend of expression and didactics more apparent
than in the forty preludes and fugues. The “Wohltemperierte Clavier” consists of two
separate books containing twenty four preludes and fugues in each book, each one
written in one of the twelve major and minor keys. The fugues are written in as many
as five different voices which often can obscure the melodies and themes the works
are initially based upon. The preludes themselves are the forerunners too of later
series of solo pieces, not only (most obviously) in Shostakovich’s homage to the
earlier composer but also, at some distance perhaps, of works such as Chopin’s highly
romanticised preludes and studies or Scriabin’s own often “highly perfumed” and
often aphoristic sets of preludes.

Although Mozart was clearly influenced by composers of his own and earlier times,
his debt to Bach is often overlooked in comparison to say the more obvious
borrowings from his mentor, Haydn. Bach, however, is clearly an influence to be
strongly felt in Mozart’s counterpoint from the chamber works to the Masses, choral
works and even such a passage as the duo for the two armed men in a work as late as
“The Magic Flute”.

One of the most significant events in this respect was Mozart’s meeting with Baron
von Swieten, best remembered nowadays perhaps for his collection of Handel
oratorios which were to influence his and Haydn’s collaborations on the latter’s
“Creation” and “Seasons”, the two great oratorios of Haydn’s final years. Von Swieten
was an official at the Prussian Imperial Court from 1770 until 1777 where he fell
under the influence of the works of Bach. As well as visiting Bach’s son Carl Philipp
Emanuel, Von Swieten returned to Vienna with several manuscripts of the older
master including a copy of “The Well Tempered Clavier”. The Baron had his own

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string trio and it was for them that Mozart decided to arrange some of Bach’s
preludes and fugues and other works creating as he did, something of a unique
synthesis between the intellectual rigours of Bach’s northern style and the more
sensuous aspects of the Italian style Mozart had become so much a part of.

The grouping of KV404a consists of six of these pieces, three coming from the set of
the “Forty Eight” (BWV853, 882 and 883) whilst the remaining three pieces are
arrangements of an Adagio from the D minor Organ Sonata (BWV527), coupled
with a fugue movement from “The Art of Fugue” (BWV1080), a Largo from the C
minor Organ Sonata (BWV526) coupled with a fugue from the same piece and
finally an Adagio and fugue actually by Wilhelm Friedmann Bach, one of the
composer’s sons. The series was envisaged for a series of Sunday morning concerts in
Vienna and date from the summer of 1782.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 7 String Quartets KV 155-160

Chamber music was an integral part of Mozart’s life, and he wrote and played many
works for various combinations of instruments. As well as being a consummate
keyboard player, Mozart played the violin and the viola.
There is, however, very little documentation of the creative impetus to write the
string quartets. Some were commissioned, and some were prefaced with dedications
from Mozart (most famously, the six ‘Haydn’ Quartets).

The six quartets K155 to K160, can be treated as a set. Mostly composed in Milan, in

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1772 and 1773 during his third tour to Italy, these years were immensely productive
both at home in Salzburg and on tour and gave rise to the opera Lucio Silla, seven
symphonies, numerous songs and the Exultate Jubilate. Within this group of quartets,
Mozart consciously explores the relationship between keys which make logical
harmonic progress through D major, G major, C major, F major, B flat major and E
flat major, each modulation moving to the subdominant. The quartets all have 3
movements, a form reminiscent of Baroque Italian style.
Again, Mozart shows his talent for variety through the pacing of these movements.
There is no set pattern of the sequence of slow or fast movements, but always a
contrast both within each individual quartet, as well as between the various different
works. There are many notable points to listen out for in these pieces: the music is
always full of contrasts – for example, the light-hearted, melodious opening to K155,
briefly followed by a fugal passage, as if to try out a more intellectual form of
communication, leading to a graceful Andante, followed by a playful Molto Allegro to
waken the listener from contemplation of the lush Andante; the poignant Adagio of
K156, mature and intense; the passionate Allegro in K159, which follows a refined,
rhythmically imaginative Andante. The final mood changes swiftly and without
jarring, to the Rondo and Allegro Grazioso.
Although the creative impetus for the composition of these pieces is not known, the
listener can hear the maturing composer exploring and learning his craft. In the
eighteenth century, chamber music would certainly not have been intended for public
performance as is now the norm and these chamber works often contain some of the
composers’ most intimate and personal thoughts. Mozart certainly played his own
and other composers’ works with friends and family, and we must also bear in mind
the intimate and unspoken emotional communication between players of any kind of
chamber music.

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The developing sureness of melody, harmony, texture, and drama is obvious
throughout these works. Only months after the completion of K160, Mozart was to
embark on another set of six quartets, which show the influence of the person who
was to become his musical mentor, and to whom he would eventually dedicate yet
another set of six string quartets: Josef Haydn.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 8 String Quartets KV 168-173

In August and September 1773, Mozart was in Vienna, where his father Leopold was
trying to obtain a post for his talented son. Perhaps this was a reason for Leopold to
encourage Wolfgang to write a set of string quartets, with the intention to provide
music for the Imperial Court. It is also fairly certain that, during this visit to Vienna,
Mozart would have been made aware of Haydn’s quartets Opus 17, finished in 1771,
and of Opus 20, completed in 1772. Haydn became the strongest influence on
Mozart’s music, and Mozart referred to him as his Master.

The most obvious change in the structure of the K168-K173 string quartets is that all
have four movements, instead of the three in each of the K155-K160 quartets. This
development took place in a very brief time span: only a few months separate the
completion of K160 and the beginning of K168. Mozart also begins to use Sonata
Form in these pieces, a form also to be used in his symphonies, chamber music and
in music for a single instrument. Within each movement, Sonata Form is used as a
structure within which the composer develops themes in terms of melody, harmony
and rhythm. A typical format of a movement would be: Introduction, Exposition

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(first idea in the home key, second idea in a related key), Development (various keys,
variation on the ideas from the Exposition), Recapitulation (first and second ideas
back in the home key), leading to a final cadence or a Coda re-confirming the home
key. Although this may seem a strict form, it gave composers a framework within
which to work, and the form is still used today, which surely means it was a challenge
composers have relished rather than a stricture to their inspiration.

Bearing in mind that Mozart may have been set a task by his father to compose some
string quartets as ‘show pieces’ to try and obtain a post at the Court, there is much
evidence of developing compositional techniques in these pieces, as well as purely
emotional inspiration. Some of Haydn’s musical discipline seems to have rubbed off,
and Mozart is obviously using specific techniques such as fugues (in the final
movements of K168 and K173).

There is some symmetry of thought in the sequence of the keys of this set of quartets,
although the flow is not as musically satisfying as the sequence of the previous set.
Here, Mozart uses F major, A major, E flat major, B flat major and D minor. However
there is now a better balance between players, and the cello is more independent - not
just a necessary bass line, more an equally involved member of the quartet, with its
own melodic, harmonic and rhythmic interest.

The opening of K168 in F major, contains some imitative counterpoint, as does the
final Andante, only here it is a full fugue, demonstrating his knowledge of the form.
K169 begins in an assured and declamatory tone, with some lively writing for all
parts including the cello. This is followed by a richly-textured Andante, and then a
halting Minuet, giving an idea of Mozart’s humour. The final Rondeau and Allegro is
spiky with a Baroque feel to its four-square peasant style dance.

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The Andante at the beginning of K170 is full of dialogue between the parts, in
different characters, reminiscent of some of Mozart’s operatic ensembles, some
serious voices, some coloratura, some commenting. A sprightly minuet follows, not
devoid of chromatic interest. This gives way to one of Mozart’s elegant Adagios, with
responses from the lower instruments. The Rondeau and Allegro bring the mood
back to a light-hearted confirmation of life.

The contrast of moods that Mozart was a master in depicting is obvious in K171,with
its mysterious and slightly chilling opening, immediately dispelled into one of his
langorous melodies. Following this is the Andante, again in a sombre vein dispersed
by a final, lively Allegro Assai. K172 begins with sunny assurance, contrasting with
another rich Adagio in the second movement. The Menuetto opens as if it were a
classic version of the genre, reminiscent of Haydn, but also of Mozart’s own keyboard
sonatas but with some added counterpoint. The Allegro Assai is as assured as the
first movement, full of sparkling challenges for the players. D minor, one of Mozart’s
most dramatic, personal and sad keys is used for the last quartet of this group. K173
opens with a tragic feel, and seems much more mature than the preceding pieces. The
Andante is serious and
graceful, the Minuet in a minor key, and not very dance-like or playful. The final
movement is a fully developed fugue, and although it is sure that Mozart
was using these pieces to improve and show off his skills, there is much to
admire here.

Dr. David Doughty

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Volume 5: CD 9 String Quartets K387 and K421 (Haydn Quartets)

Mozart had written his set of six String Quartets K168-K173 probably in the hope of
getting work at the Court in Vienna in 1773. Although the attempt to obtain work
was unsuccessful, the visit was highly significant in other ways: Mozart came under
the influence of Haydn, and his skills as a composer increased partly due to the
practise Mozart had in writing these six quartets. However, the disappointment
Mozart must have experienced at his rejection in Vienna may have deterred him from
using the String Quartet format for nine years.

Mozart’s search for work took him to Mannheim where he fell under the influence of
the Mannheim School built around the superb orchestra of the County Elector as
well as Paris and Vienna, where he eventually settled in 1781, well away from the
unhappy pressures of his native Salzburg and his patron Archbishop Colloredo. The
following period from 1782 was an enormously
significant one for Mozart: he married Constanze Weber, wrote the first of his
“Haydn” Quartets, and his first child was born in 1783. Around this time, he also
became more and more deeply involved with Freemasonry. The following period also
saw the composition of some of his most mature works: operas, such as the Magic
Flute, the Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and the late symphonies and concertos.
As with Mozart’s earlier quartets, there is no firm documentation regarding the
impetus to write this particular set of quartets, and whether they were written
specifically as a homage to Haydn, or were dedicated to him after the first few were
composed is not known. What is known is that the year 1785, when the set was
published, was a very creative year for Mozart, and he was extremely popular with
audiences and the buying public alike. Mozart’s publisher, Artaria, was also the
publisher of Haydn’s works.

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The six Haydn quartets were composed as a set, and took Mozart about two years to
complete. Very unusually for Mozart, he made many alterations to these pieces,
rather than having them planned out in his mind and then writing them down in
one sitting. Perhaps his extremely high regard for Haydn made Mozart strive harder
than ever for something perfect to dedicate to his mentor.

The Quartet K387 is in G major and opens with an Allegro Vivace Assai, with a
theme containing some chromaticisms which become a feature of the whole quartet.
This is an elegant movement, skilfully flowing, giving contrast between textures,
melody, chromaticism, and using every instrument as a soloist. The second
movement Menuetto is full of rhythmic and melodic subtlety with nothing left of the
four-square dance movements of Mozart’s very early minuets. Again use is made of
chromatic figures, with the instruments answering each other. In the Andante
Cantabile, Mozart is expansive, exploring many related keys, but with an air of calm,
the cello used as a full member of the quartet, with solos, rather than just being a
straight bass-line. The final movement, marked Molto Allegro makes much use of
counterpoint, mingled with sprightly dance rhythms, still toying with chromaticisms,
but finishing calmly if somewhat abruptly.

The Quartet K421 is in D minor. The opening Allegro contrasts a flowing, almost
improvised melody and a more structured succession of phrases. The spacious
Andante which follows moves into the related key of F major, where the first violin
has the most important role. The Menuetto has a sombre, dramatic mood, lightened
by a simple Trio. The final Allegretto is a set of variations on a Siciliana rhythm, full
of interest in the interplay between the four instruments.

Dr. David Doughty

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Volume 5: CD 10 String Quartets K428 & K458 (Haydn Quartets)

In the gap between finishing his six String Quartets (K168 to K173), which he wrote
in Vienna in 1773, and composing the set of six string quartets dedicated to Haydn
(published by Artaria in 1785), Mozart was not idle: he visited Munich where he was
commissioned to write his opera ‘La Finta Giardiniera’, which brought him success
and accolades (‘wonderful genius’ amongst others.) He returned to Salzburg, which,
after his visits to Italy and Vienna, and particularly the adulation he received as a
child prodigy, must have seemed provincial in the extreme. Most confining of all was
the post of Concert-master for the Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus von
Colloredo. Mozart’s father Leopold encouraged him to refine his violin playing,
resulting in the composition of several violin concertos around that time. However,
the recently invented ‘pianoforte’ fired Mozart’s imagination rather more than the
violin, and he wrote a number of piano concertos, as well as organ sonatas,
symphonies and masses, as well as many soprano arias, and his opera ‘Die
Entführung aus dem Serail’. Mozart finally settled in Vienna in 1781, and in the
ensuing ten years, he composed his most mature works, married Constanze Weber,
his children were born and he became more involved with Free Masonry, all of which
added to his inspiration.

The dedication of the Quartets to Haydn was born out of great admiration, Haydn
was Mozart’s musical father. (Haydn was frequently referred to as ‘Papa Haydn’, not
only by Mozart). In the touching letter of dedication which Mozart wrote to Haydn,
Mozart refers to these six quartets as his children: ‘Here they are now, O great man
and dearest friend, my six children…..May you therefore please receive them with
kindness and be their father, mentor and friend!’ The middle pair of quartets in the
Haydn set of six, are in related keys: K428 is in E flat major, and K458 is in the related

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dominant key of B flat major. As with all the ‘Haydn’ quartets, these exploit sonata
form to the full, and with by now familiar Mozartian creativity.

K428 was composed in 1783, the same year as Symphony number 36 , the Horn
Concerto in E flat major, several Piano Concertos and many vocal pieces, with this
large volume and variety of creativity carrying on into 1784, when the quartet K458
was written.

In yet more imaginative exploration of contrasts, Mozart explores dynamic contrasts in

the opening Allegro ma non troppo, the initial phrase, soft and unison, being an
angular chromatic melody, almost prefiguring the 12-tone music of the early 20th
century. As always, Mozart never allows anything to become ordinary with contrasting
dynamics and virtuoso triplets in this free-flowing movement. The graceful Andante
has a more strictly structured melody, but still bears traces of chromaticism. It
modulates through many related keys, and has an almost ‘Romantic’ feel, ahead of its
time. The Menuetto takes the listener by surprise with its brusque lilt and heavy unison
chords, but soon evolves into delicate repeated notes in the lower parts. Harmonically,
this movement is full of interest, with unusual modulations through C minor, to B flat,
then from G minor to F, to B flat, and eventually concluding in the tonic E flat major.
The final Allegro Vivace starts in a light vein, but gradually becomes more and more
dramatic. Fast, running figures are contrasted with dramatic chords which stop the
cascades of notes in their tracks. The final few bars are typical Mozartian drama: four
pianissimo chords, with four loud chords in confident retort.

‘The Hunt’ is the title of K458, and is one of the best-known quartets of this set. The
name was not allocated by Mozart, but by contemporary listeners, who would have
been familiar with the idea of the 6/8 time signature being used to represent a

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hunting style. The reason for its name is immediately obvious in the opening
‘hunting horn’ galloping chords. Here, Mozart demonstrates the full possibilities of
Sonata Form, playing with themes, recapitulations, key structures, all of which never
seem repetitive or contrived. The Menuetto is stately and graceful, even though it has
strong accents on the third beats of some of the bars, which might make it seem
unstable, but somehow manages to keep a sense of dignity. In the trio, lightness of
step is the order of the day. The Adagio moves to the warm key of E flat major, for a
refined and elegant melody on a deceptively simple harmonic structure. Full of
sophistication, like some of his mature operatic arias, it is never bland although it is
slow. Mozart shows us a great example of Sonata Form in the final Allegro Assai. Fast
and furious, full of fun, it is in contrast to the luscious mood of the Adagio. Again,
there is counterpoint, different textures, syncopations, interest and variety, ending
with sure-footed verve.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 11 String Quartets K464 & K465 ( Haydn Quartets)

The admiration between Mozart and Haydn was mutual. Indeed Haydn said to
Mozart’s father Leopold, after he heard a performance of the first three of the ‘Haydn’
quartets: ‘In the face of God and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the
greatest composer known to me either personally or by reputation’. It seems that this
was not just grateful flattery, as Haydn really did hold Mozart in awe. He refused to
write an opera for the Prague opera house, as it would have been very soon after
Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and in Haydn’s words: ‘I would run too many risks, for it
would be difficult for anyone, no matter who, to equal the great Mozart.’

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Although Mozart’s financial circumstances were often uncertain, as he worked mainly
in a ‘freelance’ way, and spent his money as fast as he earned it, Mozart was in the
midst of his creative prime in 1785, when these last two ‘Haydn’ quartets were written
and it was around this time that he met Da Ponte, at the court of the Emperor Joseph
II. This was to prove one of the most important collaborations in Mozart’s life, as it
was Da Ponte’s libretti which inspired him to write his most outstanding operas such
as ‘The Marriage of Figaro’, ’Don Giovanni’ and ‘Cosi fan Tutte‘.

The last two quartets dedicated to Haydn were written in 1785, the year the whole set
of six ‘Haydn’ quartets were published. Composing this set of six quartets had been a
long and drawn out process, perhaps because of the importance Mozart attached to
their dedication. The original workings of the quartets show a laborious process of
crossing-out and starting again of many sections.

The quartet K464 is in A major, with four movements: Allegro, Menuetto, Andante,
Allegro. Mozart uses the dotted rhythm of the opening bars to the full during the first
movement, the Allegro. This movement has an extended development, making full
use of dialogue between the instruments, imitation, surprising modulations, all
demonstrating Mozart’s increasing mastery in the medium of the string quartet. In
this quartet, Mozart has a reversed the traditional sequence of the second and third
movements, to be a Minuet followed by an Andante. In the second movement,
Mozart provides the listener with a minuet and trio, where he again makes use of
variation: if not of the theme, then of parts of the theme. The Andante is long,
graceful and rich in content. Some links can be made to the quartet K421, which also
contained a variation movement. He makes full use of embellishments of the melody,
as well as harmonic, tempi and metre variations, all producing a depth of interest and
expression. The final movement, Allegro, makes diverse use of chromaticism and

25
counterpoint, with the latter feature sometimes between individual instruments, and
sometimes between pairs of instruments. The closing bars seem almost tongue in
cheek, with a typically confident pianissimo, chromatic to the last.

The last in this series of ‘Haydn‘ Quartets, K465, is one of the best-known quartets of
the set and indeed of all Mozart‘s works in the form. Known as the ‘Dissonance’, the
quartet was given its title after the mysterious opening of the first movement; music
which seems to grow organically as if from nowhere, and which has a strangely
progressive and almost late-romantic feel about it. This opening Adagio has indeed
been the subject of much ‘learned’ debate, with some writers even disputing whether
Mozart actually had intended to write such dissonances in the way he did. Haydn’s
own sound judgement of the passage was that, of course, he did. It takes many bars of
unsettling harmonic shifting around before a sunny resolution moves forward and
into a more conventional and jolly C-major Allegro.

The ensuing second movement Andante is founded on a mellow and typically

Mozartian melody, emotionally full whilst still relatively simple in its construction.
This is followed by a light-hearted, sturdy Minuet and Allegro, which changes mood
with Mozart’s usual mercurial regularity. The final movement, an Allegro, lively and
energetic, again uses unsettling chromatic snatches, and eventually closes with trills
on all four instruments, bringing the listener to the closing and strong C major
cadences with a dramatic flourish, which must have been a relief to many of Mozart’s
listeners at the time these quartets were first played in public, satisfyingly contrasting
with the dissonances of the first movement and bringing both this quartet and the
series to a close in that most positive of all keys.

The ‘ordinary’ eighteenth century listeners to this music must have been perplexed by

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its variety, richness and highly sophisticated harmonic language, which was well
ahead of its time. There are contemporary reviews which do show that there was a
varied response to these quartets: ranging from Haydn’s heartfelt praise, to some
rather perplexed words written in 1787: ‘…his new Quartets … which he
dedicated to Haydn, may well be called too highly seasoned, and whose palate can
tolerate this for long?’ As with some audiences of all forward-looking composers both
today and in the past, many of Mozart’s contemporaries were not ready to
understand the depth and quality of what they were hearing.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 12 String Quartets K499 & K575

In 1786, the Marriage of Figaro was first performed in Prague, where Mozart was
much more celebrated than in his chosen home city of Vienna. His father Leopold
was delighted to witness the quality of this opera, and thrilled by the success it
brought his son. During the previous few years, Leopold had disapproved of Mozart’s
life style, and his marriage to Constanze, but Mozart dearly loved his father, and the
real affection between them never waned. Mozart’s rich spiritual life and mature
philosophy of the brotherhood of man gained or cemented through his membership
of Freemasonry, was partly due to the contemporary thinking in Vienna, but surely
much of this must have been due to the upbringing he had. There had always been a
sense of fun in the Mozart household, but also a great drive to be one’s best, and to
look to the higher things in life.

In spite of the great success of Figaro, Mozart’s finances were not healthy. The

27
composer would have just been paid for the composition, and in those days there
were no royalties, so no matter how successful a piece was, and how often it was
performed, the composer did not benefit financially to any great extent. But, Mozart
was in his creative prime, and continued to compose numerous works, constantly
refining and developing his ideas. Mozart’s life, reflected so well in his music, was one
of fascinating contrasts: he could be frivolous and sparkling as demonstrated in the
many letters to his sister and his wife. Constanze was no intellectual, but this did not
seem to put a strain on their emotional relationship: she was a companion full of fun,
who could laugh with him, and entertain him in the bedroom. Mozart was a man of
paradoxes which are fully embodied in all his compositions. The apparent
transparency of some of his works belies the depth of feeling underneath, but
occasionally the real passion surges to the surface, leaving the listener in no doubt
that Mozart had a great and noble mind.

The ‘Hoffmeister’ String Quartet, K499, was written in 1786, apparently to pay a debt
Mozart owed to Franz Anton Hoffmeister. He was a well-know music publisher and
composer in Vienna. Hoffmeister published his own works as well as those by
Mozart, Haydn, Clementi and Pleyel. In four movements, Allegretto, Menuetto-
Allegretto, Adagio, Allegro, this quartet seems to encompass everything Mozart had
learned from writing the previous set of ‘Haydn’ string quartets. The opening
Allegretto movement uses dialogue between instruments, often in pairs. Here, the
mood is mature and confident. The mastery of the form is evident, and Mozart uses
daring innovations such as a canonic imitation during the Minuet. The Adagio is one
of Mozart’s most heartfelt and beautiful; the emotional intensity of the first violin
soaring above the other instruments is like one of the bleak arias of the Countess in
Figaro, full of love and warmth, but with an underlying loneliness and personal
insecurity. But Mozart never dwells for too long on the darker side of life, and the

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final Allegro movement returns to his light hearted, spontaneous façade.

The King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, was a good amateur cellist, and it is to him
that Mozart’s next three string quartets are dedicated. The cello plays a prominent
part in these three quartets, with some innovative techniques, which may have
stretched the royal cellist a little! The composition of this set was begun against the
backdrop of the French Revolution in 1789, and the Duport brothers, both well-
known musicians had escaped France to settle in Berlin. Mozart knew the elder of the
two brothers well, and so was surely aware of the treatise on the cello by his younger
brother, which he had been writing for a considerable period, but was finally
published in 1813. This was devoted to the use of fingering and bowing on the cello,
so would have had some influence in the way Mozart wrote for the cello in these
Prussian string quartets.

In K575, although the cello is given a prominent role, it never upsets the balance
between the instruments: Mozart handles this challenge with mastery and
refinement, lightening the texture throughout. The final movement contains an
elegant cello melody, with some flourishes, but it is never allowed to dominate, so
Mozart pays dignified tribute to his royal patron, without ever being sycophantic.

Dr. David Doughty

Volume 5: CD 13 String Quartets K589-K590 PRUSSIAN-K80

Mozart had begun the composition of the three ‘Prussian’ string quartets, dedicated
to Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, in 1789, but the completion of the last two

29
quartets was delayed to 1790. This was for several reasons: Mozart had his habitual
string quartet compositional difficulty, which he had also experienced whilst writing
the ‘Haydn’ quartets. He called this a ‘troublesome task’. In addition to the creative
concerns, there were some practical ones: in the intervening period, Mozart was
working on Cosi fan Tutte.
From about 1788 onwards, Mozart had been beset with financial difficulties, to the
point where he wrote begging letters to his friends, who, although generous in their
support, could not entirely fund the composers life style. Mozart’s productivity was
affected by worry, and his major creative output started to decline in quantity, if not
in quality. Constanze’s continuing ill-health added to the financial burden, with
doctor’s bills and visits to Spas to be paid for. However, he was given 100 Friedrichs
d’Or for the Prussian quartets in Berlin, and with that came an offer of a post, which
Mozart declined, it is said out of loyalty to the Viennese. In spite of all these
difficulties, Mozart continued to innovate and to challenge musical boundaries. The
quartets K589 and K590, whilst still forming part of the three ‘Prussian’ quartets, had
a less prominent part for the cello than their predecessor, K575.
The four movements of K589, Allegro, Larghetto, Menuetto-Moderato, Allegro Assai,
challenge the balance between movements: the Minuet is the longest movement,
whilst the final Allegro Assai is very short. Again in this quartet, Mozart uses
counterpoint to the full. The second movement, the Larghetto is beautifully
proportioned, gentle and elegant, with its exquisite melody being mostly on the
violin. The Menuetto-Moderato has none of the dance-like predictability of Mozart’s
early minuets: it is recognisably in a triple time, but is full of motives and ideas
playfully tossed between the instruments. The final Allegro Assai is a bright, bouncy
movement with reminiscences of the opening of the ‘Hunt’ quartet, and confidently
finishes off this quartet in only 155 bars.

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K590, the last of Mozart’s quartets, shows that he had completely mastered a form
which he had seemed to struggle with: its drama is immediately obvious in the
opening bars, confident and commanding with simple, unison arpeggios. Soon, the
listener is entertained by the cello’s starring role - a tribute to Friedrich Wilhelm II,
himself an amateur cellist. The second movement, Allegretto is an almost operatic
melody with variations like some of the coloratura arias from Mozart’s operas. There
is, below the mask of warmth, a slight melancholy. The Minuet is not one of
Mozart’s bright, childlike ones, it too bears dark undertones. However, in the final
Allegro movement, the happy mask is firmly back in place, and Mozart delights with
the exuberance of the writing, but beneath there is a tension and Mozart interrupts
the bright, coloratura writing with insistent semi-quaver figures and abrupt chords.

Very little is known about the reason to write a string quartet in 1770, in Lodi, on his
way from Milan to Bologna, but we Mozart noted in his title: ‘At Lodi. 1770. 15th
March at 7 in the evening’. This first quartet, K80 was originally written in three
movements (Adagio, Allegro, Menuetto), but a fourth (Rondeau) was added some
four years later. The Rondeau shows how Mozart’s style had matured in the
intervening years. The opening Adagio has an expansive almost operatic melody, and
although the texture of the ensemble is fairly immature, a gift for lyrical writing is
unmistakable. In contrast, the Allegro is spirited, with some declamatory fanfares in
unison, interspersed with fast passages, and syncopations, all showing creative
exploration of ideas. The Menuetto is rather mundane, but nonetheless graceful with
its harmonic modulations. In the fourth movement the mature (eighteen year old)
Mozart is in command of his forces and more comfortable with the interplay
between instruments, adventurous harmonies and varying textures.

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It is worth dwelling on the legacy that Mozart left the world with his string quartets.
He himself played both violin and viola in chamber music, the most intimate musical
expression between fellow spirits. Perhaps in the chamber music above all, is found
the real Mozart: the long development of the quartets from the early K80, written
when he was fourteen, to K590, written in the year before he died, display the internal
workings of Mozart’s genius. He struggled with their composition, unlike with his
other works, where he wrote them down almost straight off. He dazzles the listener
and player alike with the sheer inventiveness of the compositions. Mozart mined
every aspect of the string quartets for every last nugget of inventiveness. There are
variations on melodies, canonic imitation, fugal writing, different textures, operatic
arias, stagy dramatic chords. In addition to this, Mozart was aware of the technical
aspects of the instruments he was writing for. He loved to challenge the player as well
as the listener, pushing everything to its artistic extreme, writing in ways that were
often extremely forward looking, but he did this seamlessly, incorporating the
musical traditions he was born into.

Mozart applied for the post of Kapellmeister at the court of the new Emperor
Leopold II in Vienna, but was refused, although he was given the post of assistant in
May 1791, with the right of succession to the Kapellmeister post when if fell vacant.
However, the assistant’s post was without pay, and before the Kapellmeister post was
available, Mozart was dead.

Dr. David Doughty

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