Composed: 1779
Premiered: 1779, Salzburg
Duration: 32 minutes

In 1777, Mozart was 21 years old. His career as a child prodigy was over, and it was time to look for a job, preferably as Music Director at one of the aristocratic courts which abounded all over Europe. He travelled around southern Germany, winding up in Paris in 1778. Nothing came of his search for a position, perhaps because he tended to be arrogant and his expectations were unreasonably high, so in early 1779, he reluctantly returned to service at the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. During the two years he spent there, he composed mainly music for the church, but in addition one of the greatest of his youthful pieces, the Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major for four winds. 

The original work was first written for the flute, oboe, horn, and bassoon, and was to be played at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. At the last minute, however, the work was replaced on the program by a Giuseppe Cambini piece, and Mozart’s work was subsequently lost.

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.