12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 12: Symphony no. 41 in C major 'Jupiter', K. 551

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his last symphony, 'Symphony no. 41 in C major 'Jupiter', K. 551' in 1788. Some critics believe 'Jupiter' is the one of the finest symphonies ever composed [2]. The symphony has four movements: 1) Allegro vivace, 2) Andante cantabile, 3) Menuetto: Allegretto, and 4) Molto allegro.

Vocabulary

Symphony: An extended piece of music of sophisticated structure, usually for orchestra.
Allegro: A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a quick, lively tempo.
Vivace: Play in a very quick and upbeat tempo.
Andante: A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a moderately slow tempo.
Cantabile: A tempo mark directing that a passage is to be played in a lyrical manner.
Menuetto: An Italian movement which is part of a longer musical composition such as a suite, sonata, or symphony inspired by characteristics of the traditional minuet dance.
Allegretto: Play rather fast and lively.
Molto: A lot or very much.

Composer

1. Mozart liked to be alone when he was working upon his compositions. He used to go to a little house on the edge of Vienna and lock himself in. The people of the city of Salzburg, in Austria, took this house long after Mozart's death and moved it to a park where all may go to see it, just as we in America go to see the houses of William Penn, Lincoln and Washington.

2. Can you remember, without turning back, the year in which Mozart was born? Some other great musicians were alive at that time. And during his lifetime some were born who became great men. In the year when Mozart was born both Handel and Haydn were living. And Haydn lived eighteen years after Mozart's death. You can remember it by these lines:

3. When Mozart was fourteen years old Beethoven was born. Mozart knew him and he knew Papa Haydn also, and they were very good friends. In our own country there lived in Mozart's lifetime Benjamin Franklin and three Presidents of the United States—George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
4. I wonder if Washington ever heard of Mozart? Perhaps we can best keep all these names together by looking at this page now and again.

5. Isn't it fine to think of Mozart writing so much music, so many operas, symphonies and sonatas; traveling so much, meeting so many people and never being spoiled by it all. While he wrote many very great pieces of music, here is something he composed when he was five years old. He made up the pieces at the piano and his father wrote them down note for note in a little copy book.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

• Mozart traveled, playing in Paris and London.
• Find the cities of Paris and London on the map of Europe.
• To which countries do these cities belong?
• Trace a path between Mozart's home country of Austria and these cities.

Activity 4: Read Aloud Your Paper About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Read your one-page story about Mozart to your family.
• Make any corrections, as needed, after reading the paper aloud.

Review

Question 1

Who lived a longer life, Haydn or Mozart?

1 / 2

Answer 1

Haydn lived more than twice as long as Mozart, dying at age 77. Mozart died at age 35.

1 / 2

Question 2

Was Mozart spoiled by meeting many people?

2 / 2

Answer 2

No, Mozart was not spoiled by meeting many people.

2 / 2

❮ ❯

1. Who lived a longer life, Haydn or Mozart? Haydn lived more than twice as long as Mozart, dying at age 77. Mozart died at age 35.
2. Was Mozart spoiled by meeting many people? No, Mozart was not spoiled by meeting many people.

References

Tapper, Thomas. The Story of a Little Boy and His Sister Who Gave Concerts. Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1915.

'Symphony No. 41 (Mozart).' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.