Mozart, Symphony No 40

 
The last years in Vienna
True to his curious habit, in June 1788, W.A. Mozart and his wife Konstance moved house for the umpteenth time. With their two small children, Karl, 4 years old, and Therese, barely six months old, they gave up their walks in the Prater and moved to an apartment in the suburbs of Vienna, to change their surroundings and, at first, to reduce their monthly rent, which was becoming more and more difficult in the center of the city. But nothing of the sort happened. Wolfgang and Konstance ended up renting the most expensive apartment available in the residence in the secluded suburb of Alsergrund. Unfortunately, little Therese died just ten days after the family moved in.

With the help of his friends
And for the umpteenth time as well, friend and brother Mason Michael Puchberg did not ignore the request for financial support. It was only two years since Figaro's success, but Mozart was now in a state of bankruptcy. The Alsergrund apartment was indeed the most expensive but also the most spacious, the only one with access to the garden and the only one with seven rooms. A lot of comforts for such a less opulent tenant.

But the Mason friend understood all this: he understood that Mozart, like any ordinary individual, found it difficult to give up a lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. He also understood that the genius from Salzburg needed space and contact with nature more than ever to continue his work.

Three symphonies in 6 weeks
And Mozart did not disappoint him. In the Alsergrund apartment, although in mourning but comfortably installed, Wolfgang Amadeus would compose in the summer of 1788, in less than six weeks, his last three symphonies: No. 39 completed on June 26, No. 40 on July 25, and No. 41 called Jupiter on August 10. His new home will be short-lived. He will have to move to a smaller apartment in January of the following year. Mozart's golden years in Vienna were coming to an end.

Symphony No 40 in G minor, K 550
Famous for its popular first movement, it is one of only two symphonies written in a minor key. As with the Jupiter symphony, there is no documentary proof that it was performed during the composer's lifetime. But Mozart made changes to it, and both manuscripts are preserved, which has led one scholar to reasonably assert that the composer "would not have taken the trouble to add the clarinet parts and rewrite the flute and oboe parts if he had not heard them performed."

Movements:
00        Molto allegro

09:42   Andante

17:23   Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio

22:04   Finale - Allegro assai

The rendition is by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Austrian conductor Karl Böhm.