Mozart · Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart Symphony No. 31 in D major, "Paris"
A symphony aimed squarely at Parisian taste
- Key
- D major
- Composed
- 1778
- Premiere
- 1778 Paris
- Duration
- about 16 min
- Movements
- 3 movements
- Instrumentation
- Woodwinds 2·2·2·2 · Brass 2·2·0·0 · Timpani · Strings
The story behind this piece
In 1778, the 22-year-old Mozart was staying in Paris looking for work, but things weren't going his way. Amid that, he wrote this piece on commission from the concert promoter Le Gros. It has three movements, fast-slow-fast, with no minuet.
Parisian orchestras of the day prided themselves on the "premier coup d'archet," in which everyone strikes the opening note with a forceful bow stroke together. Mozart mocked this custom in his letters, but he put it right at the start of the piece so that Paris audiences would like it. It is also the first of his symphonies to include clarinets.
What to listen for
- First bar of the 1st movement: the whole orchestra's powerful first down-bow, together
- Clarinets: listen for the sound of clarinets in a Mozart symphony for the first time
Listen · Score
Credits