Mozart: Sinfonia concertante, K. 364 & Symphony No. 40, K. 550

Featuring

Gordan Nikolić
Richard Wolfe
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Recording & Production

The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra uses the version with clarinets for this recording of Mozart's Symphony in G minor.

Composer Biography

Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante was written after he was dismissed from the Archbishop of Salzburg's service, during a period when he was seeking a court position in Mannheim or Paris.

Compositional Technique

In the Sinfonia Concertante, the viola is tuned a semitone higher (scordatura) to more closely match the sound of the violin, ensuring equal roles for both solo instruments.

Composition History

Mozart composed his last three symphonies—No. 39, No. 40, and No. 41—in an unimaginably short period of barely two months in 1788.

Performer Biography

Gordan Nikolić, the musical leader of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, plays a Gasparo Lorenzini violin built around 1770.

Performer Biography

Richard Wolfe, the violist on this recording, transitioned from violin to viola as his primary instrument at the encouragement of chief conductor Rudolph Barshai while with the Israel Chamber Orchestra.

Critical Reception

Alfred Einstein, a Mozart biographer, described the creation of Mozart's last three symphonies as 'no longer a commission, no immediate objective, but an appeal to eternity.'