Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543

Program notes

About the Work

In the summer of 1788, in a burst of activity that remains one of the wonders of musical history, Mozart wrote his last three symphonies, Nos. 39, 40 and 41, in the space of a few weeks. Nobody knows for certain what they were for (perhaps a series of subscription concerts that seems never to have taken place), yet he produced three masterpieces of utterly distinct character. The E-flat Symphony, completed on 26 June 1788, is the first and the most genial of the three: warm, lyrical and autumnal, lacking the tragic urgency of the G-minor Fortieth and the contrapuntal grandeur of the ‘Jupiter’, but radiating a mellow, golden serenity all its own.

Part of that distinctive sound comes from an unusual choice of instruments. In the Thirty-Ninth Mozart uses clarinets instead of oboes, giving the clarinets, still relatively new and beloved by Mozart, unusual prominence. The result is a softer, rounder woodwind colour perfectly suited to the work’s lyrical warmth. The symphony also opens with a grand, slow introduction full of dotted rhythms and bold dissonance, a feature common in symphonies of the day but rare in Mozart’s own, lending the work a ceremonial, almost Olympian weight before the sunlight breaks through.

Often called the most relaxed and good-humoured of the final trilogy, the E-flat Symphony has been described as the crowning lyrical achievement of Mozart’s symphonic output: music of effortless grace that conceals, as ever with Mozart, the most consummate craftsmanship.

What to Listen For

Listen first to the grand slow introduction (Adagio): stately dotted rhythms and sweeping scales, shadowed by surprising dissonances, that create a sense of expectation before the music relaxes into the flowing, graceful main Allegro, with its gently rocking themes and the warm glow of the oboe-less woodwind.

The second movement (Andante con moto) is serene and songful, but listen for the sudden, dramatic clouding-over in its middle, where the music turns briefly stormy and minor before the calm returns. The third-movement Minuet is robust and genial, and its trio is one of Mozart’s most famous passages: a rustic, Ländler-like dance led by the clarinets, evoking village music-making. The finale (Allegro) is a sparkling, Haydnesque romp built almost entirely from a single quicksilver theme announced at the start; listen for how Mozart spins the whole movement from this one idea, full of wit and headlong energy, ending the symphony, and our programme, with irrepressible high spirits.