Mozart: Sinfonia concertante in E-Flat Major & Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"

Featuring

Volker Hartung
Davide Toso
Christian Euler
Junge Philharmonie Köln
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Did you know?

1/7

Composer Biography

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy violinist, whose strenuous travels with his father Leopold across Europe may have contributed to his fragile health and early death.

Composition History

Mozart's Symphony No. 41, 'Jupiter,' was composed in the summer of 1788 and is his last and greatest symphony.

Instruments

The viola, whose Italian name means "mother of all string instruments," was considered the "Cinderella" of the family until the 20th century.

Compositional Technique

The most famous characteristic of Mozart's 'Jupiter' Symphony is the five-voice fugato in its fourth movement, which combines five main themes.

Critical Reception

The 'Jupiter' Symphony was celebrated as the 'highest triumph of instrumental composition' and Johannes Brahms later stated that Mozart's last three symphonies were "much more important" than Beethoven's first.

Compositional Technique

In his Sinfonia Concertante, Mozart used a technique called scordatura for the viola, where the instrument is tuned a semitone higher than normal, making it sound brighter and larger.