Symphony No. 2 (Mozart)

Mozart

The piece of music once known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major, K. 17, is now considered to be not by him, but by possibly his father, Leopold Mozart.[1] This symphony has been given the number Anhang C 11.02 in the sixth edition of Ludwig Ritter von Köchel's catalogue of Mozart's music,[2] and is now also catalogued as Eisen B♭ 6 (LMV VII:B6) in Cliff Eisen's catalogue of Leopold Mozart's symphonies. It was written for 2 oboes, 2 horns in B♭, and a string section.

\relative c'' { \key bes \major \tempo "Allegro" \partial 4 f8.\f f16 bes4 d,8. d16 f4 f,8. f16 bes4 d8. f16 \times 2/3 {f,8-. f (g} \times 2/3 {as g f)} g4 }

The symphony is in four movements in the usual quick–slow–minuet–quick pattern:

  1. Allegro
  2. (Andante)[3]
  3. Menuetto I & II
  4. Presto

The publication of this symphony in the Alte Mozart-Ausgabe, the first collected edition of Mozart's music, shows several points at which smaller, editorially-supplied notes are given, suggesting an unfinished composition. For instance, in "Menuetto I", only the first violin and cello/double bass parts are completed; the second violin and viola parts in their entirety in this movement are editorial additions.[4]

Since K. 17 is now believed not to be by W. A. Mozart, the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe does not include this symphony as part of its edition.

  1. ^ For the attribution to Leopold Mozart, see Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Mozart (New York: Norton, 1983), p. 197 (Mozart work list). ISBN 0-393-30084-6.
  2. ^ Sadie, p. 197.
  3. ^ The parentheses are around the tempo designation "Andante" in the score of the symphony.
  4. ^ See the score linked below.