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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
Composed: 1788
Premiered: unknown (possibly Dresden, 1789)
Duration: 35 minutes

Mozart’s last three symphonies were composed over the incredibly short time of about three months in 1788. It seems unlikely that they were ever performed during Mozart’s lifetime, but undoubtedly, he had some definite occasion in mind when he wrote them. The old idea that he wrote them “for posterity” is surely a romantic fiction; he was a craftsman, who very seldom composed anything he did not know or at least confidently expect to be performed. There have been suggestions that Mozart had hoped to make a trip to London, and might have wanted to take these symphonies with him.

He seems not to have been certain whether the orchestra in any projected concerts would have clarinets, so he produced two versions of the score, with and without these novel instruments. Recent evidence suggests that there may have been performances in Dresden, Leipzig, and Frankfurt in 1789 and 1790, and perhaps in Vienna, though this is far from certain.

The G Minor Symphony, the second of the three last symphonies, has been discussed endlessly in musical literature, without reaching any consensus. To most listeners, its beauty has a disturbing quality. Its intense, restless chromaticism has said various things to different people, but few remain indifferent. To some, the first movement represents the dawning of the stormy, Romantic age, with hints of grief, passion, and tragedy; to others it seems to embody the Classical ideal of control and symmetry.

Haydn quoted the slow movement in his oratorio, The Seasons, using the melody to set the words, “Autumn withers towards old age, bleak winter draws near”. To him, as to some others, this music had an autumnal sound. But what to make of the fiercely contrapuntal minuet? And of the vigorously energetic finale? The G Minor Symphony has been regularly performed for well over 200 years, but one hears very few echoes of it in the works of later composers. Perhaps its clean, symmetrical beauty has intimidated possible imitators.

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

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
Composed: 1788
Premiered: unknown (possibly Dresden, 1789)
Duration: 35 minutes

Mozart’s last three symphonies were composed over the incredibly short time of about three months in 1788. It seems unlikely that they were ever performed during Mozart’s lifetime, but undoubtedly, he had some definite occasion in mind when he wrote them. The old idea that he wrote them “for posterity” is surely a romantic fiction; he was a craftsman, who very seldom composed anything he did not know or at least confidently expect to be performed. There have been suggestions that Mozart had hoped to make a trip to London, and might have wanted to take these symphonies with him.

He seems not to have been certain whether the orchestra in any projected concerts would have clarinets, so he produced two versions of the score, with and without these novel instruments. Recent evidence suggests that there may have been performances in Dresden, Leipzig, and Frankfurt in 1789 and 1790, and perhaps in Vienna, though this is far from certain.

The G Minor Symphony, the second of the three last symphonies, has been discussed endlessly in musical literature, without reaching any consensus. To most listeners, its beauty has a disturbing quality. Its intense, restless chromaticism has said various things to different people, but few remain indifferent. To some, the first movement represents the dawning of the stormy, Romantic age, with hints of grief, passion, and tragedy; to others it seems to embody the Classical ideal of control and symmetry.

Haydn quoted the slow movement in his oratorio, The Seasons, using the melody to set the words, “Autumn withers towards old age, bleak winter draws near”. To him, as to some others, this music had an autumnal sound. But what to make of the fiercely contrapuntal minuet? And of the vigorously energetic finale? The G Minor Symphony has been regularly performed for well over 200 years, but one hears very few echoes of it in the works of later composers. Perhaps its clean, symmetrical beauty has intimidated possible imitators.

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