A Quick Riff on Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik
I. Allegro
Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525 ("Eine kleine Nachtmusik")
I'm Mozart, and I'm happy to walk you through the I. Allegro of Eine kleine Nachtmusik. You'll hear how a bold opening call from all the strings together gives way to a graceful tune in G major, and why that contrast makes the movement so easy to follow. Here on this site my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so come and try it yourself.
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Five Players, One Lively Conversation
Think of this movement as a conversation among five players: two violins, a viola, a cello and a double bass. The first violin often carries the tune you'll end up humming, while the second violin and the viola fill in the middle and keep things moving. Listen low down for the cello and the double bass, which give the music its footing so the melodies above never drift off. If you only follow one thing, follow the tune as it passes from player to player, like a ball that nobody ever drops.Why It's Simply Called Allegro
Allegro just means lively, and that's all I meant by it, since the word tells the players how briskly to go. When I entered the serenade in my catalogue in Vienna on 10 August 1787, I listed five movements, and this one stood first. Only four of them survive today, because the page holding the first Minuet and Trio went missing, so there is a gap in the line-up right after this opening. I didn't look for a poetic name, because the music tells you what it wants to say within its first few seconds.Three Acts and No Intermission
Choosing the form was an adventure for me, and I settled on sonata form, which suits a movement with a bit of drama in it. It works like a short story: the exposition introduces the characters, the development puts them through some trouble, and the recapitulation brings everyone home. It isn't a rondo, where one tune keeps coming back like a guest who won't leave, because I wanted this movement to go somewhere and then return. I'm only naming the sections here, and next we'll take them one at a time, with G major as the home we keep coming back to.Section 1: Everybody Says Hello at Once
The movement starts in G major with all the strings playing the same fanfare-like announcement, bold and impossible to ignore. Then the players answer themselves with a softer, more playful reply, so you get a statement and a smile within a few seconds. After that the music keeps its lively pace and pushes forward, as if it's looking for somewhere new to go. This is the opening of the exposition, and almost everything you hear later grows out of it.Section 2: A Lighter Tune Steps Out
Now the music has left its home key, and a new, lighter tune appears. It's more graceful and more singing than the opening, and the first violin sounds relaxed, as if the announcement has been made and we can all sit down. The tempo stays lively, but the mood softens and the whole sound seems to smile. A cheerful closing passage rounds off the exposition, which is the first big part of the movement.Section 3: A Short Walk in the Shadows
The development is where I take the tunes you've just met and play with them. They wander through unfamiliar keys, so the mood turns more restless and a little shadowy for a while. Nothing truly dark happens, since this is a serenade, but you can feel the ground shift under your feet. Then the music calms its wandering and starts to head back, which is your cue that the last act is near.Section 4: Everyone Goes Home
The fanfare returns in G major, and after all that wandering it feels like walking in through your own front door. This time the lighter second tune also stays in G major, so the whole movement feels settled and at ease. The pace never lets up, and the mood goes back to cheerful confidence. The movement ends with a firm, bright finish that leaves you ready for whatever comes next.Your Turn to Press Play
Now it's your turn to hear it for yourself. Press play, sit back, and let the music carry you along without worrying about anything else. As it goes, you might listen for the opening fanfare, the lighter second tune, the restless middle and the return home. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed writing it.---
I hope you enjoyed learning about the listen guide to the Allegro of Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and that it left you with a few things to listen for the next time it plays. When I wrote it in August 1787, I was simply finishing a little serenade, and I never imagined people would still be listening to it so closely. Now that you know how the movement opens, you can hear the fanfare, the passing tunes and the way the five players answer each other as the old friends they are. What I like most is that the music doesn't ask you to know anything at all, because it works just as well when you simply sit back and let it play. There is still more to explore in Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The Romanze, the Menuetto and the Rondo each have their own character, and nobody has ever found the first Minuet and Trio, which I entered in my catalogue and which is now lost. Nobody knows who asked for the serenade or where it was first played, and that little mystery is part of its charm. If you'd like to keep going, please click on the links provided and explore Eine kleine Nachtmusik further. Then come back to this first movement once more, because I think you'll hear something new each time.