symphony no. 41 (mozart)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote the Symphony No. 41 in C major (K. 551), along with the immediately preceding symphony, No. 40 in G minor (K. 550), in the space of a few weeks in 1788. It was, as far as can be determined, never performed in Mozart’s lifetime. Its movements display the typical classical symphonic form:

Though the title “Jupiter” is not Mozart’s—it may have been added by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon in an early arrangement of the work for piano—the symphony carries an Olympian weight to it, marked out immediately by the boldness of the first subject of the first movement. A remarkable characteristic of this symphony is the five-voice fugato at the end of the fourth movement. Mozart's last three symphonies date from the summer of 1788, a trying time for the composer. His opera, Don Giovanni, after a successful run in Prague, had failed in Vienna, and the Viennese public no longer flocked to support his concerts. In addition, cultural activities as a whole were sharply limited by the Austrian Empire's new war with Turkey. As a consequence, Mozart's income dropped; he and his family were forced to seek less expensive lodgings in the suburbs of Vienna. Attempting to put a good face on this move, the composer boasted in a letter that the distance he now lived from the city's heart was actually beneficial, claiming "I have greater leisure to work now since I am not troubled by so many visitors." Unfortunately, a distraction or two might have been more therapeutic, for Mozart was troubled by a lack of commissions, and by the recent death of his six-month-old daughter, Theresia. One letter to a lodge brother refers to "dark thoughts which I must banish by force," and apparently those thoughts interfered in his ability to compose. During this summer, Mozart completed very few compositions. The only significant works were three symphonies, written in a mere seven weeks. They would be the final symphonies of his career. Mozart rarely composed with no particular purpose in mind. Generally, his works were written on commission, or for his own concerts, or as gifts for friends. Such transactions were usually cataloged in the composer's letters and writings. However, in this case, the historical record is silent. Music scholars have found no evidence of a commission; no one paid for these symphonies to be written. Perhaps Mozart composed them on speculation, in hopes of selling them or presenting them in a Viennese concert. If so, he was disappointed, for they were not published during his lifetime, and there is no clear evidence of a performance. Nevertheless, the sudden burst of activity does suggest that the composer had some objective in mind, and it now seems that his goal may have been a London tour. As a child, Mozart had spent over a year living in London, absorbing the musical ambience. Even in adulthood in Vienna, he had several close English friends, and since at least 1786, he had spoken of traveling to London to present a concert series. In the event of such a tour, it was customary for composers to bring new works, preferably a set of three or six symphonies. Haydn did exactly that when he came to London in the 1790s. Scholars now suggest that, several years before Haydn's journey, Mozart wrote these three symphonies while dreaming of a similar excursion, though he never embarked upon the adventure. The Symphony no. 41 is known as the Jupiter Symphony, a title not granted it by its creator. Rather, the title seems to have originated, ironically enough, in London, thanks to the impresario Johann Peter Salomon, who would later bring Haydn to England. The nickname seems to have been inspired by a sense of Olympian grandeur in this, Mozart's largest and most complex symphony. It is a long step beyond the angelic grace usually associated with Mozart's name. Here, he calls upon a more robust spirit, hinting at the grand Romantic symphonies that would come with Beethoven. The symphony is Jupiter-like in another way, too, for it is frequently jovial, as if the Greek god himself were laughing heartily in the celebratory key of C major. Mozart's Forty-first Symphony proved inspirational to many composers, especially Haydn, who modeled his 95th and 98th symphonies on the Jupiter. Yet the most succinct reflection on the work's importance is found in the critiques of Robert Schumann, who in 1835 wrote "about many things in this world there is simply nothing to be said --- for example, about Mozart's C-major symphony with the fugue, much of Shakespeare, and some of Beethoven." It is perhaps significant that Schumann does not merely equate the Jupiter with Shakespeare and Beethoven. Rather, he places this piece above many of those master's efforts.

  Elizabeth Schwarm Glesner

Mozart 41

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