"Molto allegro" from Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV 550

In the summer of 1788 Mozart wrote his last three symphonies within a few weeks; the G minor, K. 550, is the darkest of them. The first movement opens without slow introduction: over murmuring violas, the violins launch what may be the most famous sighing theme in music — urgent, restless, unresolved. One of only two symphonies Mozart wrote in G minor, it channels near-Romantic anxiety through Classical restraint. This concert presents the opening Molto allegro.