Mozart: 1st Movement from Symphony No.

40 in G minor
1) The structure of the movement is sonata form, which consists of three sections, the exposition,
the development and the recapitulation. The exposition is made up of two themes and a bridge
passage. The development’s main purpose is to develop the two themes that are “exposed” to
the audience in the exposition. The recapitulation is essentially a repetition of the exposition
with slight variation, such as the bridge passage being more adventurous because it has no need
to modulate.
2) The instruments in this movement are:
 Flute
 Oboes
 Clarinets
 Bassoons
 Horns
 Violins
 Violas
 Cellos/Double Bass
3) The development section includes a rapid change of keys giving it a sense of restlessness and
also there is a use of chromatic harmonies by the composer.
4) In the exposition the first and second subjects differ for example the first subject is in G minor
and the second subject is in Bb major, the relative major. Also in the second subject the main
theme is not only isolated in the strings but is played by the woodwind at bar 52.
5) ‘Pathétique’ literally means ‘pathetic’ and refers to the melancholy mood generated by a piece
of music, in this specific movement the G minor tonic key gives the piece a general melancholic
feel.
6) In the exposition the purpose of the bridge passage is to modulate from G minor in the first
subject to Bb major, the relative major, in the second subject.
7) The second subject in the recapitulation is in the key of G minor because it is the tonic key and
the end of the piece is approaching.
8) In the coda Mozart further develops the three-note motif first introduced in the first subject of
the exposition having the woodwinds alternately playing it among themselves.
9) I would describe the mood in the first movement as a whole to be melancholic due to the G
minor key, chromatic harmonies and…
10) There is a homophonic ‘tutti’ and also homorhythmic in the final bars of the coda, bars 293-299,
but the rest of the movement mainly consists of melody dominated homophony.
11) The phrasing is antecedent and consequent, or ‘question’ and ‘answer’.
12) Four elements that point this out as belonging to the classical era are:
 The use of a small orchestra.
 The melody dominated homophony.
 The use of sonata form.
 The use of antecedent and consequent phrasing.
13) Sf means ‘Sforzando’, which is when a note is played loudly and accented.