Symphony No. 39 in E‑Flat Major

Mozart’s last three symphonies (Nos. 39-41) were composed within just a few weeks of each other in the summer of 1788. Why Mozart wrote three such ambitious scores in a short space of time remains something of a mystery, though it seems most likely that they were intended for a series of subscription concerts in Vienna. While all three works have very different characters, they nevertheless complement and balance one another. Symphony No. 39 in E flat is dated 26 June 1788, and is the only one to begin with a slow introduction—an arresting mix of Baroque solemnity and pre-Romantic drama, heightened by trumpets and timpani. The following “Allegro” initially lifts the tension, but reveals that for Mozart the distance between joy and anxiety is often very narrow, and can be tipped by something as simple as an unexpected change in tonal or harmonic colour, a simple shading, modulation, or accent. This ambivalence—playing off the serious and whimsical—continues in the “Andante con moto”. Only in the final movements is there a sense of pure, unadulterated pleasure. The cheerful “Menuetto” is charmingly outshone by the “Trio” where the clarinets are given an idealised Viennese folk dance (Ländler). Finally, Mozart rounds off the symphony with a chirpy “Allegro”, tightly based around the witty development of a single theme.