Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major (K. Anh.C 11.02)
沃尔夫冈·阿马德乌斯·莫扎特
The Symphony in B♭ major (K. Anh.C 11.02), dated to 1768, survives in transmission but is now generally regarded as an incorrectly assigned work and is often connected with Leopold Mozart rather than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [1] [2]). Scored for a modest Classical orchestra of oboes, horns, and strings, it follows the familiar fast–slow–minuet–fast pattern—though the text as transmitted appears to be incomplete in places [1] [2]).
Background and Context
Dated to 1768, the Symphony in B♭ major (K. Anh.C 11.02) is not securely anchored to a specific place or occasion, and its present standing in the repertory reflects that fragile documentation. Modern reference cataloguing associates the work with Leopold Mozart (as a fragment), and the piece is widely treated as spurious in relation to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [1] [2]).
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In practical terms, this matters less for what the music is than for how it is heard: as a compact, mid-century symphony in the orbit of the Mozart household’s Viennese years, close in scale to the orchestral idiom a twelve-year-old Wolfgang would have known intimately—whether as composer, copyist, or performer within Leopold’s working sphere.
Musical Character
The work is scored for:
- Winds: 2 oboes
- Brass: 2 horns (in B♭)
- Strings: violins I & II, viola, bass (cello/double bass)
This is the standard “court orchestra” palette of the period—brightened by the incisive oboes and warmed by the horns’ harmonic support—well suited to the public, ceremonial character often associated with B♭-major symphonies [1] [2]).
The symphony is laid out in four movements:
- I. Allegro
- II. (Andante) (E♭ major)
- III. Menuetto I & II
- IV. Presto
The unusual parenthesis around the slow-movement tempo marking (Andante) is already a small sign of transmission complexity, and the score tradition suggests incompletion: in the first minuet, for example, inner parts are reported as editorially supplied rather than fully preserved from the original musical text [2]). Even so, the overall design is clear and conventional—an opening movement aimed at crisp, conversational orchestral rhetoric; a slow movement in the subdominant region (E♭ major) offering lyrical relief; and a closing Presto designed for brisk, uncomplicated brilliance.
Place in the Catalog
K. Anh.C 11.02 sits beside other doubtful or incorrectly assigned orchestral items and is frequently omitted from “core” surveys of Mozart’s symphonies. Heard on its own terms, it is best approached as a small-scale eighteenth-century symphony closely linked—by attribution and surviving status—to Leopold Mozart’s orchestral output [1] [2]).
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for KV Anh. C 11.02 (status, dating, attribution to Leopold Mozart as fragment, and instrumentation).
[2] Wikipedia: “Symphony No. 2 (Mozart)” (overview of spurious attribution, four-movement layout, scoring, and notes on apparent incompletion/editorial additions in the minuet).