jan 1, 1755 - Sinfonia a 8 in Eb Major, Op. 11, No. 3: Mvt. 1, Allegro assai (NAWM 116)

Description:

Composer: Johann Stamitz
Genre: Symphony
CAVEAT: Composed in the mid-1750s

This symphony was published in La Melodia Germanica, a collection of symphonies by several composers that was issued in Paris in 1758.

Symphony Movements:
Allegro (I), Adagio (II), Minuet and Trio (III), and a Prestissimo Finale (IV). These later became the standard symphony movements.

Sonata Form:
Nineteenth century analysts described the form in terms of theme rather than phrases due to the increasingly tuneful quality of some of these ideas. Additionally, Stamitz was one of the first symphony composers to highlight the arrival of the dominant key with a contrasting theme, usually more lyrical to balance the dynamic, energetic opening section.

Despite this, it's important to remember that 18th century composers generally thought in terms of harmonic areas phrases (not themes) within an expanded binary form.

In this movement, Stamitz does not return to the beginning of the first theme at the recapitulation, but rather goes straight to the second theme and coda (both in tonic). Because of this, the 18th century model (Koch's) provides a better description for this movement, as is true for most sonata-form movements prior to the 1780s.

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