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Symphony No. 40 - Mozart (1788)
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Symphony No. 40 in G minor K550

Background
Mozart experienced the astonishing success of a prodigy, followed by the typical fall of musical comets. The Viennese, who were always looking for something new, exhausted the novelty of Mozart and moved on to new stars. Mozart himself became ill and frustrated, and his financial situation was poor, yet at the same time his wonderful creativeness was left uninterrupted.
Within two months, in 1788, in a time of disappointment and dissatisfaction, Mozart wrote his last three symphonies - and in fact the best of them. They did not express his personal feeling at the time - they are optimistic, powerful and even romantic (especially Symphony no. 39). The 40th symphony is an evident manifestation of Mozart superb quality - detachment from daily life in his artistic creation, and the constant search inside his soul and inner world.
Mozart family (1780) by Johann Nepomuk della Croce, Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, SalzburgThe works were not ordered by anyone, and their writing was derived of nothing except Mozart's own inner need. It seems the Symphony no. 40 was performed in his own time, for he changed its orchestration, after a while (he added two clarinets and changed the oboes' parts so they would suit the enlarged woodwind section). Today, the original version is played in concerts. If the "revised" piece was ever performed, it must have been in two concerts dedicated to the widows of musicians held eight months before Mozart's death. It seems that it was Symphony no. 40 that opened the concert.

About the work
The symphony includes four movements, as customary:
1st movement (allegro molto) - without an introduction, comes the first, hurting theme - in the violins. The second, opposite theme is in major and played in strings and woodwinds, alternately, but also bitter and transmits pain.
2nd movement (andante) - written in another key (E flat major), and in 6/8 meter, it is elegant and perfectly built. In this movement sadness remains, though the atmosphere clears up a little.
3rd movement (allegretto) - Mozart gave it the title "minuet", but this is not a dance movement as is customary, but a powerful, syncopated episode, full of dissonances, and in its center an optimistic, relaxing trio sub-movement in a G major key with a delicate solo of the French horns.
4th movement (Allegro assai) - this tempestuous movement is dominated by the first theme, a defiant subject that emerges victorious when the movement closes the piece in great sadness, but also spirituality.
The ensemble In the earlier version, the symphony was written for a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two French horns and strings.
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