| Royal Classics |  |
| Disc No: ROY6480 | |
| Price: Sek. 51 |
Mozart rarely employed a slow introduction to his symphonies (only three times in some 60 works) but that to the 'Prague' Symphony is the most impressive. Intimidating, almost. It borrows from his opera Don Giovanni a severe, doom-laden mood, with threatening phrases repeated over a steady tread. Eventually it relaxes and the Allegro slides in, circumspectly at first but quickly gaining power. Here the mood is deadly earnest, the pace furious, the end sudden. There is more warmth in the Andante, but the finale is again serious, albeit with some lighter moments. It begins on a weak beat, as if breathless to get underway, and the development reflects the slow introduction with its great rolling outbursts of sound. In contrast to the severity of No 38, Symphony No 39 is suave and friendly, even replacing oboes with clarinets to give a more engaging sound. Yet the slow introduction gives a false impression. It features a series of violent discords whose meaning we may only imagine. The Allegro is pure joy and grace as Mozart smiles at out discomfiture over the introduction. Another warm and lyrical Andante inclines towards a greater severity at times but generally brings contentment. So, too, does the highly rhythmic Minuet. Most notable about this movement is its central Trio, a delicious melody over clarinet arpeggio. Commentators have discovered in the finale evidence that Mozart was strongly influenced by his friend Haydn. Certainly the influence is present in some aspects of this movement, but no more so than elsewhere in Mozart's compositions. This finale may suggest Haydnesque high spirits but only Mozart could have composed it in quite this way. Symphony No 39, together with Nos 40 and 41, was written within six weeks in the summer of 1788. They were to be Mozart's last symphonies, though he lived three more years. Robert Dearling. Discontinued |
| Name: Mozart Symphony no. 38 / 39 | |
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| Composer | Opus | Produced | Music | Key | Performer |
| Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | K.504 | 1984 | Symphony no.38 'Prague' | D major | Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields - Sir Neville Marriner |
| Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | K.543 | 1984 | Symphony no.39 | E flat major |