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Tune of the Day: Symphony No. 25
Symphony No. 25 in G minor, which is usually referred to as the “Little G minor symphony” to distinguish it from the “Great G minor symphony”, was written by Mozart in 1773. It was supposedly completed a mere two days after the completion of his Symphony No. 24, although this remains unsubstantiated. Today, its theme is widely known as the opening music in Miloš Forman's 1984 film Amadeus.
The use of minor keys in symphonies was rare in the eighteenth century. However, rather than being viewed as a forerunner of Romanticism, this work is more satisfactorily regarded as being part of a sudden wave of minor-key symphonies which appeared in the late 1760s, all characterized by stormy drama and restlessness of spirit, attributes which have led some to refer to them as Sturm und Drang (“storm and stress”) pieces.