Mozart Symphony 41I will take a number of short extracts from this piece
and give performance suggestions for each.
Mozart gives us two strongly contrasting motifs in the first four bars.
Consequently I like the first motif, which strongly reinforces the tonic, to cresendo
and its final note is sent into the stratosphere. Bars 3-4 give us contrast in texture and
volume, but also take us straight into the dominant, G. The final note of the
1st violins in bar 4 should not be too short or quiet as it is the 7th of G
which is not resolved until the final note in the 2nd violins in bar 8.
 2. 1st Movement: Bars 5-8
Again crescenco in bar 5. This works well whenever this motif comes - whether
in forte or in piano. When in piano (e.g. 24-25) the crescendo helps to set the
woodwind off on their downward scales. Bars 7-8 return us to the tonic and so the
dynamic can just come away a little in bar 8.
 3. 1st Movement: Bars 56-59
Here's a great example of competing principles! If you follow the common
idea of Mozart's day that slurs diminuendo, then bar 1 diminuendos to bar 2.
But if you go with the principle of giving more weight to the 'away' feeling of the
dominant it would be the other way round. You could perhaps ask the firsts to dim and
seconds to cresc, but I don't think that works. In general I think it better
to go with the harmonic structure if there's a conflict of interests and that is
what I would recommend here. So the first bars goes to the second, and the
third comes away to the forth. But please note this is only a subtle thing, I'm
not advocating huge dunamic changes! Also note that in the third and forth bars there
is no tension between these principles as they work together.
 4. 1st Movement: Bars 71f
Here's a wonderful fragment for the violas (and bass section) taken from
the motif in bars 3-4 at the very start of the movement. Mozart is getting very
operatic here. The bars just before this are very gentle and light and then these
bars interrupt with a miniature outburst of passion. The violins reply with a
delicate and almost nonchalant tune, and the process is repeated. Hence I like these
bars to come out strongly from the texture. At the same time the whole bar should
not be completely legato as there are two slurs.
 5. 1st Movement: Bars 105-108
The harmony of this passage suggests that the second and forth bars should
be stronger than the first and third. Also care should be taken not to make the
third bar sound as if the slurs are one note later than written. In other words
observation of slurs as phrasing should be eimployed.
 6. 1st Movement: Bars 144-46
A good example of how Mozart uses dots as articulation. In the first bar
I would diminuendo in each group of four notes: the slur suggests it,
and the dots are only there to stop a second slur being added
(so I would bow it out and not do two up-bows on the dotted notes). In the
third and forth bars the dots again caution against adding slurs.
 In the string parts it seems most likely that a diminuendo is
intended. No difference should be inferred from the fact that the
second violin and viola pianos are written a semiquaver after those of the
firsts and basses. But how should we treat the sfp in the wind? Again a diminuendo
seems most likely, though with a lower dynamic than in the strings.
An abrupt 20th centruy style sforzando sounds quite out of place here.
 8. 2nd Movement: Bar 68
Mozart very clearly marked some notes with wedges in this symphony.
Here he shows that these two quavers should have equal weight, and perhaps
also something of an accent. The inference is that he would normally
expect there to be a diminuendo on such quaver pairs (i.e. when there are
no such articulation marks). There is
a hierarchy of weight even within a beat.
 9. 2nd Movement: Bar 91
The five dotted triplet notes should be played lightly, but without being
exceedingly short as that brings unnecessary attention to them. On the string
works well.
 Making use of the slurs here gives this passage a swing: give an impulse
on the begining of the first and third bars (slightly more on the third
than the first).
 11. Trio: 9-12
A clever little foreshadowing in the first violin part of the last movement's first theme.
Due to the use of daggers each note should receive a 'dig' (probably best done with extra bow speed
and vibrato at the start of the note). But also contour needs adding to the line so that
the third bar is the strongest (strongly suggested by the harmony).
 I've reduced the parts here. The top line (played by the woodwind)
shows an appogiatura and resolution on the second and forth bars. Hence the
first note in those bars should be stronger then the second. The violin parts
have the wedge, just as in the earlier trio. The bass part shows that the harmony
is again going to the third (dominant) bar and away to the forth (tonic) bar.
 13. 4th Movement: Bars 19-21
Although there is no marking on the dotted crotchet it would be natural
to shorten it (notes of the same pitch often need shortening - the brass parts
often require this treatment). Also it acts as
an upbeat to the dotted minim following, and so it makes good sense to give this
longer note the most weight in this phrase, with the quavers trailing off slightly
in volume (though not in excitement!). Treat this phrase the same way
whichever part of the bar it comes in.
 14. 4th Movement: Bars 56f
Treating this as a simple crescendo and diminuendo works well. The dotted crotchet
is the strongest point, and the minim slightly less than its full length.
 15. 4th Movement: Bars 102-106
The three notes with the wedges can be accented, but the quavers are less important.
Again it makes no difference whether a point comes on the first or
second beat (minim) of the bar - it should start loud each time (and therefore down bow
in the string parts).
 16. 4th Movement: Bar 183
This is part of the motif discussed in 13 above for the brass and timps.
As such it should crescendo to the minim.
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