The Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra in

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

, K. 364 (320d), was written by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. At the time of its composition in 1779, Mozart was on a tour of Europe that included

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He had been experimenting with the sinfonia concertante genre and this work can be considered his most successful realization in this cross-over genre between

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

Instrumentation

The piece is scored in three

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

for solo

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, solo

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, two

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

s, two

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

, and

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, the last including a divided viola section, which accounts for the work's rich harmony. The solo viola part is written in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

instead of E major, and the instrument tuned a semitone sharper (

scordatura Scordatura (; literally, Italian for "discord", or "mistuning") is a tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual chords or timbre, or to make certain pa ...

technique), to give a more brilliant tone. This technique is uncommon when performed on the modern viola and is used mostly in performance on

original instruments Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in which ...

Movements

Recordings

Richard Wigmore in '' Gramophone'' (October 2015) writes that there are over 40 CD recordings in all. He rates as best to date one by

Iona Brown Iona Brown, OBE, (7 January 19415 June 2004) was a British violinist and conductor. Early life and education Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury and was educated at Cranborne Chase School, Dorset. Her parents, Antony and Fiona, were b ...

, violinist and conductor, and

Lars Anders Tomter Lars Anders Tomter (born 30 November 1959) is a Norwegian viola player. He plays on a 1590 Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò (20 May 154214 April 1609) is the name given to Gasparo Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and an expert ...

, viola, with the

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra Det Norske Kammerorkester or The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (established in 1977) is a chamber orchestra based in Oslo. Biography The orchestra was founded by the violinist Bjarne Fiskum who got the idea for a summer course for young string tal ...

, Chandos CHAN9695. Also on his short list is a 1989 recording, with Iona Brown, and with

Nobuko Imai , is a Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument. Biography Imai began her musical training at the age of six. She began studying at Tokyo' ...

, viola. Mention should also be made of the 1951 Casals Perpignan Festival recording with

Isaac Stern Isaac Stern (July 21, 1920 – September 22, 2001) was an American violinist. Born in Poland, Stern came to the US when he was 14 months old. Stern performed both nationally and internationally, notably touring the Soviet Union and China, and ...

and

William Primrose William Primrose CBE (23 August 19041 May 1982) was a Scottish violist and teacher. He performed with the London String Quartet from 1930 to 1935. He then joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra where he formed the Primrose Quartet. He performed in ...

Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

conducting.

Legacy

This Sinfonia Concertante has influenced many arrangers to use its themes. In 1808 an uncredited arrangement of the piece for a string sextet was published by under the title ''Grande Sestetto Concertante''. All six parts are divided equally among the six players; it is not presented as soloists with accompaniment. It has also been arranged for

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

in place of the viola part. The ''Sinfonia Concertante'' was mentioned in

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...

's 1979 novel ''

Sophie's Choice ''Sophie's Choice'' may refer to: * ''Sophie's Choice'' (novel), a 1979 novel by American author William Styron ** ''Sophie's Choice'' (film), a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula ** ''Sophie's Choice'' (opera), an opera by the ...

;'' after a stranger molests Sophie on the subway, she hears the ''Sinfonia Concertante'' on the radio, which brings back memories of her childhood in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and snaps her out of her depression. Variations on the slow second movement were used for the soundtrack to the 1988

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...

film ''

Drowning by Numbers ''Drowning by Numbers'' is a 1988 British-Dutch film directed by Peter Greenaway. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival of 1988. Plot The film's plot centres on three married women — a grandmother, her d ...

'' by composer

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...

. The original piece is also heard after each of the drownings in the screenplay.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Compositions for viola and orchestra

1779 compositions Compositions in E-flat major