Volume 15, June 2022
Different Strokes: Giambattista Cimador's chamber music arrangement of Mozart's Haffner (no. 35) and Paris (no. 31) Symphonies

by Mark Elliot Bergman

Abstract:In the first decade of the 19th century, Giambattista Cimador arranged and published six chamber music reductions of symphonies by Mozart. The fourth arrangement in this set (entitled "Symphony IV") includes two movements from Mozart's Haffner Symphony (K. 385) and two movements from Mozart's Paris Symphony (K. 297/300a). This article explores the background and circumstances of Symphony IV's creation as well as Cimador's arranging techniques. Of particular interest are alterations Cimador made to articulation, slurring, and dynamics, as well as the use of polyphonic string writing relative to the source material. These alterations exemplify emerging approaches to string-playing and anticipate some important characteristics of 19th-century European music. A critical edition (including a score and parts) is included.

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Source Material

4. Articulation

5. Slurs

6. Double stops and other polyphonic string writing

7. Dynamics

8. Future Research

9. References

10. About the Author

Mozart Cimador Symphony IV - Score and Parts Complete

Cimador's Mozart — Spotify Playlist