The second piece presented in the concert especially pulled
me into the dancing bows on the violins, leaving my heart still my heart
vibrating 10 hours later. Although composed in a classical-style symphony—fast
movement, slow movement, minuet, fast movement—Symphony No. 40 presents an
unusually romantic and lyrical melody. The four movements work with each other
to create conflicts and tensions, which is what makes this piece especially
exciting. The symphony starts with a fast movement in the key of G minor, with
a rhythm of 2/2. The movement is dark and intense, with full of dramatic
changes in volume and tempo. The melody often drifts in and out from its
original minor key to a major key, creating a sense of nervousness. Listening
to the first movement, you feel like walking through a medieval European
dungeon, dark and nerve-racking, with torches still burning on the wall. Then
you are immediately brought into a relaxing garden in an open field by the
second movement of the symphony. The movement is in E flat major, the only movement
in a major key in this entire symphony. The melody is very lyrical, slow and
soothing, with rather steady tempo and not very dramatic volume change. Sometimes
tension is created from a sudden switch from major scale into a harmonic minor
scale, but they are mostly quickly resolved. You may consider that as the
breeze that blows by the field. Now, take a deep breath, because the third
movement will accelerate your heart rate again. Although labeled as “minuet,” the
constant twists and turns in the melody are nothing you would want to dance to.
The minuet returns to the key of G minor, but has a 3/4 time. It starts in a
very angry mood, with two counterparts knitting a discorded sweater together. The
melodies of the counterparts sometimes complement each other, but most the time
clash into each other like two arguing brothers. In one part the wind
instruments would bring the melody to a major key, where the tension between
counterparts resolves. The melodrama in the melody, however, quickly resumes,
bringing you to the fourth movement, in which you will feel like driving up and
down in the mountains. The fourth movement returns to G minor and 2/2 time, like
the first movement. Sometimes the violin leads the melody, as if asking a
question. The wind instruments and other strings would respond to the question
in a loud, rebellious tone. The instruments also always play in 16th notes, or
even 32th notes, creating the texture of a wind. So many tensions and imagery
are portrayed in the Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. I was never bored listening to
it because every movement of the piece present me a different surprise. It felt
like I riding a rollercoaster of Mozart’s emotion, with my resonating with
every twist and turn.
After going to the BSO concert, I was genuinely surprised
by how moody Mozart became in his late composition era. I was also very glad
that he finally broke the strict format of classical music, realizing that his
music should not just please the king or other people, but should also serve as
his own emotional relief. I was incredibly fascinated by the live-performance
of Mozart’s moody pieces, so I would recommend you to go to the concert.
However, to be completely honest, the concert was almost three hours long, and
if you are not a huge fan of classical music, you will feel so bored and
struggle to wait for it to be over. If that’s the case, don’t come to the
concert.
