During the summer of 1788, Mozart compos ed three symphonies in rapid succession - they would end up being his final efforts in this genre. Some theorists and music historians believe that Mo zart conceived of these three symphonies as a single, unified work - No. 39 has a grandiose introduction but no coda, while No. 40, as the middle work , doesn’t have an introduction (it gets right down to business!) and does n ot have a finale - at least to the scale of No. 41.
ECO’s
Music Director William Hill has decided to do something a bit different wi
th this performance - ECO will perform Symphony No. 40 first, followed by N
o. 39. This will certainly be exciting, as No. 40 is one of only two Sympho
nies that Mozart composed in a minor key - and, as previously mentioned, th
e work really does simply start right off the bat with one of Mozart’s best
-known melodies.
ECO will begin the concert with a perfor
mance of the Overture from Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. This G
erman-language opera premiered on July 16, 1782 at the Vienna Burgtheater,
with Mozart conducting - and was a great success for the composer.
