Mozart's Last

ShostakovichListener · Post by **ShostakovichListener** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:38 pm

I really enjoy the last symphonies of Mozart. One of the very first things that I've listened to were the 40th and 41st Symphonies. So I've decided to find out what other people think about them.

paulb · Post by **paulb** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:53 pm

I think most everyone feels mozart in his 41st sym composed something that went even beyond his peyond his previous masterpieces. You could bring up a very long list of accolades of praise to describe this work. Its really indescrible, the emotions are brought into a state of complete amazement and awe.
My personal favs are the rare and OOP Bruno Walter with the Columbia, not his earlier New York recording which Sony keps releasing. Sony will not release the Columbia. The other is very comparable to the Walter, Karl Bohm with the Berlin/DG. I've done a comparison but really have not come to any definite conclusions, they are that close.
There are others that are well recorded as well, everyone has their particular fav.

That final movement, kinda like Elisha going off in a blazing chariot to heaven.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:43 pm

I vote for No. 39

RebLem · Post by **RebLem** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:21 pm

40, the Great G Minor. Love that first movement, especially. Hogwood is great, the old Klemperer mono from 1957 is almost as good.

val · Post by **val** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:42 am

I would chose the 40th, but the Andante of the 41 is a miracle of beauty.
Bruno Walter with the NYPO is my favorite interpreter.

Ralph · Post by **Ralph** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:31 am

Can't tell you why but the "Jupiter" has never even been close to a Mozart symphony favorite for me. But No. 40 sure is.

DavidRoss · Post by **DavidRoss** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:43 am

40. Love at first hearing and some forty years later still among my favorite of all symphonies.

jbuck919 · Post by **jbuck919** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 10:50 am

I can usually suggest a ranking for everything (and am frequently roasted for doing so), but not in this case. I can't choose among the late symphonies of Mozart except to love them all. And as nobody seems to have noted, they do not necessarily start with number 39. I'd put 36 and 38 in the same category.

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 5:46 pm

I love the contrasting emotions in no. 40, you can almost taste the angst!

Heck148 · Post by **Heck148** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:54 pm

ShostakovichListener wrote:......One of the very first things that I've listened to were the 40th and 41st Symphonies. So I've decided to find out what other people think about them.

the late symphonies of Mozart are some of music's greatest treasures.
I love all of these works - but if I have to name a favorite -or favorites - it would usually be #39 and #38.

#39 is actually a "happy" work of Mozart's, altho with a telling poignancy that is most attractive...]

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:32 pm

Richard wrote:I vote for No. 39

Me too. I could do without the other two. They get way too much air time.

anasazi · Post by **anasazi** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:36 am

Probaly my reason for voting for 39 was that it was in fact the very first classical symphony I ever heard live. By a university orchestra, but very very good performance. It has always had a special place in my heart for this reason. I mostly cherish the Walter recordings with Columbia. The monaural is supposed to be his best, but I kind of like the stereo version.

It's really the two middle movements, the Andante and Menuetto that are the most attractive, although I love the entire work.

Heck148 · Post by **Heck148** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:21 am

anasazi wrote:Probaly my reason for voting for 39 was that it was in fact the very first classical symphony I ever heard live.....
It's really the two middle movements, the Andante and Menuetto that are the most attractive, although I love the entire work.

agreed - the middle mvts are lovely. of course, I feel that way about #s 40 and 41 too. the inner mvts are the real treasures, tho of course, the entire works are superb...
but those andantes, minuets....exquisite....

karlhenning · Post by **karlhenning** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:24 am

Heck148 wrote:
anasazi wrote:Probaly my reason for voting for 39 was that it was in fact the very first classical symphony I ever heard live.....
It's really the two middle movements, the Andante and Menuetto that are the most attractive, although I love the entire work.
agreed - the middle mvts are lovely. of course, I feel that way about #s 40 and 41 too. the inner mvts are the real treasures, tho of course, the entire works are superb...
but those andantes, minuets....exquisite....

Agreed, bis :-)

And Heck, YHM!

Cheers,
~Karl

lmpower · Post by **lmpower** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:54 pm

Like jbuck I think these three symphonies are about equal. 41 is the most grand. 40 is the most tragic. 39 is the dark horse, unjustly underrated.

Brahms · Post by **Brahms** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:02 am

Jupiter --- the fugue-finale is the clincher . . . . . . .

moldyoldie · Post by **moldyoldie** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:23 am

Böhm on 41 (Berlin DG) is my absolute fave! Klemperer et al. on 41 just don't do it for me. Haven't heard Böhm's Vienna recording...yet.

Novitiate · Post by **Novitiate** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:30 am

Brahms wrote:Jupiter --- the fugue-finale is the clincher . . . . . . .

Agreed - my favourite part too.

Although I have to say that I've a nostalgic regard for #40 ever since playing an arrangement of it on a hotch-potch of percussion instruments in 6th grade music class (enterprising music teacher!). A travesty it may have been, but as I recall, I proudly manned the xylophone

Incidentally, it wasn't until about 15 years later that I realised that it was a Mozart symphony, but I still remembered it after all those years.

Post by **Corlyss_D** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:58 pm

39 has always been my favorite of the 3 since I first heard it. The drunken, reeling winds in the 3rd movment closed the deal for me.

Excessive exposure of 40 and 41 have ruined them for me. Ditto Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

karlhenning · Post by **karlhenning** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:24 pm

Corlyss_D wrote:Excessive exposure of 40 and 41 have ruined them for me. Ditto Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

Interesting. I've had to keep them at a distance for years at a stretch; but they could not be lastingly ruined for me, somehow.

Cheers,
~Karl

Sapphire · Post by **Sapphire** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:19 pm

Have voted for Jupiter. My version is Bohm/BPO.

I must say that I don't often play any of this stuff much these days. I used to love it, but compared with the Romantic symphonies I find it all rather lightweight in comparison. Still, it's far better than any of Haydn's efforts. The only Mozart I play these days are extracts from the various operas. He's still my favourite opera composer.

I must admit, further, I don't often play symphonies. I'm much happier these days with much smaller scale works, with solo piano preferred. Is this other peoples' experience too, i.e. increasing preference towards smaller scale? Perhaps this is why I remain devoted to the Romantic period, namely that they provided the very best of solo piano composers and there is so much wonderful material to explore here.

Saphire

karlhenning · Post by **karlhenning** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 3:29 pm

Saphire wrote:I must say that I don't often play any of this stuff much these days. I used to love it, but compared with the Romantic symphonies I find it all rather lightweight in comparison. Still, it's far better than any of Haydn's efforts. The only Mozart I play these days are extracts from the various operas. He's still my favourite opera composer.

Lightweight isn't a dirty word in our home :-) But, to be sure, Mozart symphonies and the clarinet concerto are so readily heard on the car radio, we seldom trouble to spin them at home ourselves.

I must admit, further, I don't often play symphonies. I'm much happier these days with much smaller scale works, with solo piano preferred. Is this other peoples' experience too, i.e. increasing preference towards smaller scale? Perhaps this is why I remain devoted to the Romantic period, namely that they provided the very best of solo piano composers and there is so much wonderful material to explore here.

Symphonies have not changed much in their relative weighting in my listening over the years; but then, I've never listened to symphonies alone, in any exclusion of other genres.

Cheers,
~Karl

hautbois · Post by **hautbois** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 3:08 am

40 Harnoncourt Concertgebouw!!!

gperkins151 · Post by **gperkins151** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:13 am

DavidRoss wrote:40. Love at first hearing and some forty years later still among my favorite of all symphonies.

Ditto.

I like Szell here.

hello, David!

Bogey · Post by **Bogey** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:34 am

39 is my favorite out of the three, though the other two are easily in my top-ten. Bernstein is my go-to for all three.

diegobueno · Post by **diegobueno** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:07 pm

With music this great, any ranking is meaningless, so I don't mind making the choice for the most trivial of reasons:

The 39th has clarinets, and a clarinet solo.

paulb · Post by **paulb** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:34 pm

diegobueno wrote:With music this great, any ranking is meaningless, so I don't mind making the choice for the most trivial of reasons:

The 39th has clarinets, and a clarinet solo.

Mark the poll is trivial.
Are you saying no clarinets in 40 and 41?
hummm, I love the clarinet, and will listen more closely to the 39th.
I guess Mozart allocates more notes for the oboe or flutes in place of the clarinets in 40 and 41.

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