
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote. The 40th Symphony was completed on 25 July 1788. The composition occupied an exceptionally productive period of just a few weeks in 1788, during which time he also completed the 39th and 41st symphonies (26 June and 10 August, respectively). The symphony is scored (in its revised version) for flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, and strings. Notably missing are trumpets and timpani. The work is in four movements, in the usual arrangement (fast movement, slow movement, minuet, fast movement) for a classical-style symphony: 1. Molto allegro, 2/2 2. Andante, 6/8 3. Menuetto. Allegretto -- Trio, 3/4 4. Finale. Allegro assai, 2/2. Every movement but the third is in sonata form; the minuet and trio are in the usual ternary form. This work has elicited varying interpretations from critics. Robert Schumann regarded it as possessing "Grecian lightness and grace". Donald Francis Tovey saw in it the character of opera buffa. Almost certainly, however, the most common perception today is that the symphony is tragic in tone and intensely emotional; for example, Charles Rosen (in The Classical Style) has called the symphony "a work of passion, violence, and grief." Although interpretations differ, the symphony is <b>...</b>
Wolfgang
Amadeus
Mozart
Symphony
Sinfonie
Sinfonia
Symphonie
Symfonie
Symfonia
Great
Orchestra
No._40
no40
in
gminor
G_minor
G minor
K.
550
k.550
k550
kv550
KV
40
classical
music
orchestre
am4d3usm0z4rt
HQ
mozarthq
Classical Music
Beethoven