The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande once asked me to present an entire classical symphony to elementary and junior-high students. The challenge (avoiding excerpts from different works) turned out to be very rewarding. Here is the text (translated in English) of this concert.
The concert starts with the first five measures of the symphony, immediately after the opening applause.
Good morning everybody, and welcome to the house of Mozart. I’m happy to see that this music has gotten your attention. You are now all silent, or almost all. You just heard the beginning of a symphony, a grand piece of music by Mozart. Mozart wrote this symphony for a wealthy and important family in Austria, two hundred years ago. That’s why the beginning is powerful and majestic, with long notes, large leaps and the whole orchestra.
But everything isn’t grand and powerful in this symphony. For instance, listen to the music that comes immediately after :
First movement, measures. 6-12
If I had started with this soft music, I would not have gotten your attention. You would still be talking! You hear the difference, of course. This phrase was soft and shy. The notes were repeated timidly. Listen to it again in contrast with the strong beginning :
First movement, measures. 1-12
I’m sure that you heard the contrast. Now, musicians use Italian terms to differentiate these types of music. The first phrase is " forte " which means strong or loud. The second is " piano ". It doesn’t mean that it’s played on a piano, of course, but rather that it’s played softly.
Now imagine that there are two different people here. The first person is big, tall, and powerful. His music is made up of great leaps and bounds, as though he could go anywhere, anytime. The second person is small and timid. His music is full of repeated notes as though he stammers.
I would like you to listen to the story of these two musical characters. You will hear that they oftentimes say the same thing, but they say it in a completely different way. Mr. Forte is loud, Mr. Piano is soft-spoken. And you will hear that Mr. Forte has a bad habit : he keeps interrupting Mr. Piano. Listen to their conversation in the first movement of the symphony.
First movement (in full), 6 minutes.
Thank you for your applause. Now, of the two characters, which have you heard the most : Mr. Forte or Mr. Piano ? (kids answer : Mr. Forte) Indeed, it is Mr. Forte ! He talks all the time. He is actually so brash and intimidating that we have barely heard Mr. Piano at all.
So who is this Mr. Piano ? We hardly know him after the first movement. But luckily, in the second movement, he is all by himself. At first, his melodies are short and simple – he is still not very sure of himself. But little by little, he gains confidence. His melodies become longer and more and more beautiful. Melodies are like words and sentences: the longer they are, the more confidence Mr. Piano has. Listen to how he overcomes his shyness.
First half of second movement (until double bar), 2 minutes.
We are now in the middle of the second movement. Mr. Piano is now very sure of himself. He no longer lets himself be bullied by Mr. Forte. And he has noticed that you are actually paying attention to his every word. He doesn’t have to speak loudly to get your attention. So he will now whisper the most beautiful thing. Listen carefully, it’s the longest melody of the entire symphony.
Second half of second movement, 3 minutes.
(Longer pause after the applause). Please tell me now, who among you has seen a cartoon ? (kids raise their hands) Well, that’s terrific ! You’ve all seen cartoons ! Now please tell me again, who among you has seen SEVERAL cartoons ? (kids raise their hands) Well, that’s terrific ! You’re all experts !
Now, you’ve probably noticed that in many cartoons, there are two friends, one rather large and sometimes pompous, the other small, quick and funny. Do you know any examples ? There’s Tweety and Sylvester, Tom and Jerry, or Laurel and Hardy, if you know those old movies.
It’s oftentimes the small guy who’s the smarter one, while the big guy is big and goofy. Well, Mr. Forte and Mr. Piano behave very much like Laurel and Hardy. In the third movement, you will hear Mr. Forte start with his big voice. But immediately, Mr. Piano answers with a little joke.
Third movement until double bar, 30 seconds.
Mr. Forte says, " Do you like my new shirt? " and Mr. Piano answers, " Yes, but it’s on backwards! "
Then you hear something quite different : the two characters start singing together. As in many cartoons, they are the worst of enemies and the best of friends at the same time.
Trio until double bar, 30 seconds.
Music isn’t always serious. Here it’s funny and repetitive, just like in the best cartoons. Listen to the entire movement. Mr. Forte and Mr. Piano keep playing the same little game. Imagine what they say to each other.
Third movement in full, 3 minutes
You’ve noticed that Mr. Piano has the last word in the third movement. He has gotten a lot more confidence since the beginning of the symphony. He has actually learned a great deal from Mr. Forte, it seems.
As for Mr. Forte, he also learns something from Mr. Piano. At the beginning of the symphony, he has no sense of humor. But now he cracks a few jokes. In the last movement, Mr. Piano starts very quickly, then Mr. Forte answers at the same breakneck speed, with a big burst of laugher. Listen carefully to the biggest instrument of the orchestra, the double bass. They will play as fast as the smallest instruments, the violins and the flutes.
Beginning of the fourth movement, until measure 37.
Let’s hear it for the double basses ! It’s as if Sylvester was trying to run as fast as Tweety or as if Tom were to follow Jerry through the mousehole. It’s a lot of fun for everybody.
Now you remember that this symphony was written for a powerful family in Austria. They were actually called the Haffner family. Perhaps Mozart was trying to tell this family something, as well as to all of us. Those who speak the loudest or who are the richest or the most powerful, are not necessarily the most important. And actually, they have a lot to learn from others, the weaker, the smaller or the poorer. Try to think of this as you listen to the last movement of the symphony. And don’t miss a note of the double basses !
Fourth movement, 4 minutes.
Thank you all for listening so well. You’re very lucky to have as fine an orchestra as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande to tell you this magnificent story in music. And I hope that you will come again to hear them in other symphonies and other stories.