the Finale, which,
like the glorious splendor of an autumn day, is the crowning objective
towards which the other movements have been striving, we must wait for
Beethoven and his modern successors. In fact we may express the
general trend of a Haydn or a Mozart Symphony by a decrescendo, thus
[decrescendo symbol] _i.e._, the real genius of the composer is shown
in the first three movements; whereas, beginning with Beethoven, we
find an organic climactic effect[128] from the first movement to the
last, thus [crescendo symbol]. But to carry such criticisms too far is
ungracious and unjust. Mozart's themes, both the first and the second
(beginning in measure 55), with their tripping contredance rhythms,
fill our hearts with life and carry us irresistibly onward. And the
Development has some surprises in store, for now the dramatic genius
of Mozart asserts itself. Note the bold leaps and daring modulations
of the opening measures. Nothing trite or formal here! The strong
polyphonic treatment of the first theme, beginning in measure 120 and
sustained with unflagging energy for seventy measures, makes this one
of the most stimulating developments in symphonic literature, not
excepting Beethoven himself. The Recapitulation, in subject matter, is
an exact duplication of the Exposition and allows us to recover
gradually from our excitement and to return to the ordinary world of
men and events. The presentation of the second theme, however, shows
Mozart's mastery of melodic variation. The substance is the same, but
the import of the melody is intensified, _e.g._

[Music: Exposition]

[Music: Recapitulation]

[Footnote 127: See the Waltz movement of the _Fifth Symphony_ and the
second movement of the _Sixth_.]

[Footnote 128: This expanding of interest is distinctly felt in
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in Brahms's First, in Tchaikowsky's Fifth
and in that by Cesar Franck.]

The Overtures to Mozart's three operas: The _Marriage of Figaro_, _Don
Giovanni_ and the _Magic Flute_ are of particular interest, not only
for the beauty of their contents but because they are our earliest
examples of the Overture fashioned in complete Sonata form. Originally
the Overture had been a prelude to the opening of a play, a prelude of
the lightest and most meagre nature. Examples, beginning with
Monteverde, abound in all the early Italian opera composers.[129]
Lully of the French school and Alessandro Scarlatti of the Italian
were the first to