Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39, 40 & 41 Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Herbert Blomstedt

• W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791): Symphony No. 39:
• 1 Mozart: Adagio - Allegro: Mozart: Symphony No. 39 09:58
• Andante con moto: Mozart: Symphony No. 39:
• 2 Mozart: Andante con moto: Mozart: Symphony No. 39 07:37
• Menuetto. Allegretto: Mozart: Symphony No. 39:
• 3 Mozart: Menuetto. Allegretto: Mozart: Symphony No. 39 04:12
• Finale. Allegro: Mozart: Symphony No. 39:
• 4 Mozart: Finale. Allegro: Mozart: Symphony No. 39 08:13
• Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550:
• 5 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: I. Molto allegro 07:49
• 6 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: II. Andante 12:18
• 7 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio 04:30
• 8 Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550: IV. Allegro assai 09:29
• Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter":
• 9 Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter": I. Allegro vivace 10:58
• 10 Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter": II. Andante cantabile 10:33
• 11 Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter": III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio 05:09
• 12 Mozart: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 "Jupiter": IV. Molto allegro 11:47
• Total Runtime 01:42:33

Info for Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39, 40 & 41

The eminent Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, a close associate and regular guest conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conduct the last two symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

For today’s musicologists, performers and concert-going audiences, Mozart’s final symphonies are still a veritable miracle. Why they were written remains a mystery, and no-one knows whether Mozart ever heard them performed during his lifetime. Apparently he needed just nine weeks to compose all three Symphonies Nos. 39, 40 and 41 – an almost unbelievable achievement even for the Salzburg musical genius Mozart. He wrote very quickly and, to a certain extent, “pre-composed” his music intuitively in his mind; all he had to do after that was transfer the notes to paper.

The symphonies in G minor, K. 550 (no. 40), and C Major, K. 551 (no. 41, also known as “The Jupiter”) are the ones that most represent Mozart’s symphonic legacy to later generations of musicians. As early as 1800, the popular “Great” G minor Symphony was praised as the “painting of a passion-stricken soul”. Like its big sister, the “Jupiter” Symphony in C Major, it numbers among the most-played works in classical music and has been immortalized in countless recordings. Nevertheless, these symphonies – probably the most profound ones before Beethoven – reveal themselves as something quite new in every interpretation. “Mozart placed all the dark sides of human existence into his G minor Symphony”, says Herbert Blomstedt, adding that its “passion” continues to fascinate him.

The eminent Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, a close associate and regular guest conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted the G minor Symphony in concerts on January 31 and February 1, 2013 and the “Jupiter” Symphony on December 21 and 22, 2017 in the Herkulessaal of Munich’s Residenz. The new album from BR-KLASSIK now presents these two great cornerstones of Mozart’s symphonic oeuvre –in the very best sound quality.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Herbert Blomstedt, conductor

Herbert Blomstedt
Noble, charming, sober, modest. Such qualities may play a major role in human coexistence and are certainly appreciated. However, they are rather atypical for extraordinary personalities such as conductors. Whatever the general public’s notion of a conductor may be, Herbert Blomstedt is an exception, precisely because he possesses those very qualities which seemingly have so little to do with a conductor's claim to power. The fact that he disproves the usual clichés in many respects should certainly not lead to the assumption that he does not have the power to assert his clearly defined musical goals. Anyone who has attended Herbert Blomstedt’s rehearsals and experienced his concentration on the essence of the music, the precision in the phrasing of musical facts and circumstances as they appear in the score, the tenacity regarding the implementation of an aesthetic view, is likely to have been amazed at how few despotic measures were required to this end. Basically, Herbert Blomstedt has always represented that type of artist whose professional competence and natural authority make all external emphasis superfluous. His work as a conductor is inseparably linked to his religious and human ethos, accordingly, his interpretations combine great faithfulness to the score and analytical precision, with a soulfulness that awakens the music to pulsating life. In the more than sixty years of his career, he has acquired the unrestricted respect of the musical world.

Born in the USA to Swedish parents and educated in Uppsala, New York, Darmstadt and Basel, Herbert Blomstedt gave his conducting debut in 1954 with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and subsequently served as Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, the Swedish and Danish Radio Orchestras and the Staatskapelle Dresden. Later, he became Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, Chief Conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig. His former orchestras in San Francisco, Leipzig, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Dresden as well as the Bamberg Symphony and the NHK Symphony Orchestra all honoured him with the title of Conductor Laureate.

Herbert Blomstedt holds several Honorary Doctorates, is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy and was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit. Over the years, all leading orchestras around the globe have been fortunate to secure the services of the highly renowned Swedish conductor. At the age of over ninety, with enormous mental and physical presence, verve and artistic drive, he continues to be at the helm of all leading international orchestras.

Booklet for Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 39, 40 & 41