In replacement of Christoph Gluck, the court composer who had died the previous year, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was finally given in 1788 what he and his father had yearned for so long: a full-time position at the imperial court in Vienna. But the salary was not much, although it was enough to pay the rent and, most importantly, it was a regular income. Mozart was already 32 years old and had to support a house, wife, and children. In order to alleviate the situation, the family decided to look for a hopefully cheaper residence, moving to the suburbs of Vienna.
Three symphonies in eight weeks
In the new home, and in the incredible span of eight weeks, Mozart wrote one after the other his last three symphonies, No 39 in E-flat, No 40 in G minor and, perhaps his greatest creation in the genre, Symphony No 41 in C major, also called "Jupiter". Whether something triggered the creation of this triptych, we do not know.
Mozart composed his symphonies at very irregular intervals and it is very likely that the unusual devotion put into these last three symphonies was due, on the one hand, to the fact that he had a little more time because he had almost no students at that time. On the other hand, his performances in concerts for his own benefit no longer aroused the popular enthusiasm of a few years before. To make matters worse, it is quite possible that Mozart never heard them.
For a couple of years Mozart had been keeping track of the start and completion dates of his works, so we know precisely that Symphony No. 41 in C major was completed on August 10, 1788. Its nickname Jupiter is somewhat more imprecise, but it is likely due to the violinist and music impresario Johann P. Salomon (who years before had taken Haydn on tour to London) to symbolize the majesty of the work with the name of the maximum divinity of Roman mythology.
Movements
Regarded as a paradigm of the classical symphonic form, the work is in four movements, the first and last in fast tempo, the second slower, and the third, the usual minuet with trio. The work lasts about 49 minutes.
00 Allegro vivace - With impressive pomp, it manages to create a ceremonial atmosphere.
13:28 Andante cantabile - Serene, loose movement in sonata form. A sarabande in the style of JS Bach's French suites.
23:43 Menuetto (allegretto) - A refined study of contrasts, setting the mood for the finale.
29:22 Molto allegro - Lavish in contrapuntal techniques, including fugato (a fugue inserted in the middle of another form), stretto (overlapping entries) and canon. The coda includes a fugato treatment of the five main themes, which are heard simultaneously.
The performance is by Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, conducted by maestro Lorin Maazel.
