EXAMPLE FOR ANALYSIS, No. 14.
Mozart: Symphony in G-minor, the first movement. [29]
TABULAR VIEW OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE FIRST MOVEMENT OF
MOZART'S G-MINOR SYMPHONY.
| Main Divisions. | Themes. | Measures. |
| Exposition (A) | 1-100 | |
| comprising | First theme | 1-27 |
| Transition, on a subsidiary theme | 28-42 | |
| Second theme, in relative major key | 44-72 | |
| Duality of Harmony | Conclusion theme, built on first theme | 72-88 |
| Cadence formulas emphasizing the key of B-flat | 88-99 | |
| Modulation | 100. | |
| Development Section, or Free Fantasia (B) | | 101-165 |
| Modulation continued | 101-103 | |
| First theme in various keys | 104-115 | |
| Plurality of Harmony | First theme, alternating between bass and treble, with contrapuntal treatment of the transition theme in "diminution." | 115-134 |
| Cadence in dominant of original key emphasized | 135-138 | |
| Rhythm of First theme variously used | 139-165 | |
| Recapitulation (A) | 165-293 | |
| First theme | 165-191 | |
| Unity of Harmony | Transition, on subsidiary theme | 191-225 |
| Second theme, in G-minor (tonic) | 227-260 | |
| Conclusion theme, First theme | 260-275 | |
| Cadences-formulas, emphasizing G-minor | 275-285 | |
| Coda | On First theme | 286-299 |
There is no slow introduction, as in Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, but there is a short coda. A little detailed comparison with the Haydn movement will prove interesting. There is none of the rather meaningless passage work which Haydn uses in his transition from the first to the second theme; instead there is a subsidiary theme (measures 28-42) which in spite of its secondary formal importance is vigorous, strongly characterized music. Instead of an entirely new theme for conclusion (Haydn, 81-93) we find an adaptation of the characteristic rhythm of the first theme (72-88) fulfilling the function of conclusion theme—to emphasize the close of the first section of the movement—by harping constantly on the tonic and dominant chords. This adaptation of familiar matter to a new purpose is ingenious. The return to the first theme, after the development section, is beautifully managed. Over a held D in the bass, beginning at measure 160, the upper voices weave a gradually descending passage out of the motive of the first theme (three notes only). There is a slight retarding, a sense of decreasing momentum, until, with the unobtrusive entrance of the theme in measure 165, a new start is taken, and the recapitulation goes merrily onward. The apparently unpremeditated nature of this entrance (though of course it was carefully planned) is charming.
In the recapitulation, the subsidiary theme which first appeared at 28-42, enters at 191, and is made the subject of a considerable episode. It appears in the bass at 198. Note the sequence at 202-203, and 204-205. The second theme, on its second appearance (227), is not only put in the tonic key of G, but is changed from major to minor. This gives rise to an interesting change in its expression. Instead of being merely tender and ingenuous, as its first and major form was, it takes on now a certain air of mystery and of resignation or controlled pathos. The conclusion theme (260) is also now put into the minor mode. The coda is short, and contains first a final suggestion of the main subject of the movement, and the necessary cadences for closing it firmly in the home key.