Mozart Squared

Conductor Václav Luks will first present Symphony No. 40 in G minor, followed in the second part of the concert by the Great Mass in C minor, KV 427. Look forward to performances by sopranos Simona Šaturová and Štěpánka Pučálková, tenor Václav Čížek, baritone Roman Hoza, and the Collegium Vocale 1704. This extraordinary Mozart evening will take place in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum. You can enjoy a live broadcast on ČRo Vltava and a recorded version on ČRo D-dur.

Symphony No. 40 in G minor, structured in the classic four-movement form, is the penultimate of Amadeus's symphonies. He composed it in Vienna in July 1788, alongside two other symphonies No. 39 and No. 41, the latter known as Jupiter, considered the finest orchestral work he ever wrote. This final trio of symphonies serves as clear evidence of Mozart's maturity and compositional mastery.

One of the first compositions Mozart created after leaving Salzburg and settling in Vienna in 1781 was the Great Mass in C minor. Although it lacks part of the Credo (the profession of faith) and the entire Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), this sacred piece, written between 1782 and 1783, is regarded as a profoundly satisfying work and one of Mozart’s greatest achievements. In modern performances of this incomplete opus, new editions are often used, some of which include missing orchestrations or even fully reconstructed sections. (Similarly, Mozart’s Requiem, left incomplete at his sudden death, is often performed with the completion by his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr.) Today’s performance of the mass uses Richard Maunder’s edition, which is characterized by minimal alterations to Mozart’s manuscript and does not include a reconstruction of the Agnus Dei.