Orchestre des Champs-Elysées . Philippe Herreweghe

For a free-lance musician such as Mozart, without a court orchestra or a patron, it was not such a natural undertaking to write symphonies. Moreover, the last years of his life were overshadowed by dwindling success, physical decline and increasingly acute financial problems. Still, Mozart completed his last three symphonies in quick succession in the autumn of 1788. They were destined for his subscription concerts. Unfortunately, the concerts were cancelled due to lack of interest. He probably never heard them himself. When these symphonies are performed in one concert, in chronological order, one hears a beautiful continuity, from the slow introduction of the Thirty-ninth, over the inner tension of the Fortieth, to the triumphant finale of the Jupiter symphony. These are very 'classical' masterpieces, already bearing - certainly the Fortieth - the seeds of the Romantic symphony. The melodies in these symphonies are highly expressive and steadily gain harmonic force. By his treatment of the wind section, and in particular the woodwind players, Mozart achieved radically new effects of timbre. The contrapuntal moments reveal his knowledge of Bach's oeuvre. PLEASE NOTE! The date of this concert has been changed from Friday 12 May 2006 to Monday 8 May 2006.