Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788.[1] The longest and last symphony that he composed, it is regarded by many critics as among the greatest symphonies in classical music.[2][3] The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony, probably coined by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon.[4]
The autograph manuscript of the symphony is preserved in the Berlin State Library.
Composition and premiere[edit]
Symphony No. 41 is the last of a set of three that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. No. 39 was completed on 26 June and No. 40 on 25 July.[1] Nikolaus Harnoncourt argues that Mozart composed the three symphonies as a unified work, pointing, among other things, to the fact that the Symphony No. 41, as the final work, has no introduction (unlike No. 39) but has a grand finale.[5]
Around the same time as he composed the three symphonies, Mozart was writing his piano trios in E major (K. 542), and C major (K. 548), his piano sonata No. 16 in C (K. 545) – the so-called Sonata facile – and a violin sonatina K. 547.
It is not known of a certainty whether Symphony No. 41 was ever performed in the composer's lifetime. According to Otto Erich Deutsch, around this time Mozart was preparing to hold a series of "Concerts in the Casino" in a new casino in the Spiegelgasse owned by Philipp Otto. Mozart even sent a pair of tickets for this series to his friend Michael Puchberg. Historians have not determined whether the concert series was held, or was cancelled for lack of interest.[1] However, the new symphony in C was performed in the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1789- at least according to its concert program.
Origin of the nickname[edit]
According to Franz Mozart, Wolfgang's younger son, the symphony was given the name Jupiter by Johann Peter Salomon,[4][13] who had settled in London in around 1781. The name has also been attributed to Johann Baptist Cramer, an English music publisher.[14][15][16] Reportedly, from the first chords, Mozart's Symphony No. 41 reminded Cramer of Jupiter and his thunderbolts.[16]
The Times of Thursday, May 8, 1817, carries an advertisement for a concert to be given in the Hanover Square Rooms on "Friday next, May 9" to include "Grand Sinfonie (Jupiter), Mozart". The Morning Post of Tuesday, June 3, 1817, carries an advertisement for printed music that includes: "The celebrated movement from Mozart's sympathy [sic], called 'Jupiter', arranged as a Duet, by J. Wilkins, 4s. [4 shillings]".
In a phrase ascribed to musicologist Elaine Sisman in a book devoted to the "Jupiter" (Cambridge Musical Handbooks, 1993), most responses ranged "from admiring to adulatory, a gamut from A to A."[17]
As summarized below, the Symphony garnered approbation from critics, theorists, composers and biographers and came to be viewed as a canonized masterwork, known for its fugue and its overall structure, which exuded clarity.[18]
First recording[edit]
The first known recording of the Jupiter Symphony is from around the beginning of World War I, issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company in its black label series, making it one of the first symphonies to be recorded using the acoustic recording technology.[21]
The record labels list the Victor Concert Orchestra as the performers; they omit the conductor, who according to company ledgers was Walter B. Rogers.[22]
The music was heavily abridged, issued on two records: 10-inch 17707 and 12-inch 35430. Victor published two widely separated takes of each of the first two movements under the same catalogue numbers. The distribution, recording dates, and approximate timings were as follows (data from corresponding matrix pages in Discography of American Historical Recordings as indicated and physical copies of the records):
1st movement (17707-A, 10") 8/5/1913 (if take 1) or 1/27/1915 (if take 6) 2:45[23]
2d movement (35430-A, 12") 8/5/1913 (if take 1) or 1/18/1915 (if take 7) 3:32[24]
3d movement (17707-B, 10") 12/22/1914 2:40[25]
4th movement (35430-B, 12") 12/22/1914 3:41[26]
Sources