The work is the final of a set of three symphonies Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. In Clements’s “Mozart: The Last Symphonies review, a thrilling journey through a tantalising new theory,” Nikolaus Harnoncourt argues that Mozart composed the three as a unified work, pointing among other things to the fact that the Symphony No. 41, the final work in the trio, has no introduction (unlike no. 39) but has a grand finale.

Although we do not know who nicknamed it “Jupiter,” some believe that the title was given to the symphony as it might be to any masterpiece or any impressively beautiful or strong or big thing. To them ‘Jupiter’ expresses the power and brilliance of the work. It has also been called the symphony with the fugue finale, but this is a misnomer as it is simply a sonata form movement with fugato passages (which only takes the beginning structure of a fugue without the actual development and form of a fugue). In other words, it has one melody being played at different times while overlapping throughout four parts. While listening, try to see if you can pick out the different voices in the orchestra. It is quite a majestic effect and certainly has earned its nickname “Jupiter.”

– Juan-David Domínguez-Rincón