A Mozart evening with Trevor Pinnock and Maria João Pires

Only two of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s symphonies are not in a major key, and in both of these cases the composer chose G minor. In order to distinguish between them easily, they were given the nicknames Little and Great G minor Symphony, not only because the composition written fifteen years later lasts longer and is scored more opulently but also because it is one of the best-known and most popular works of classical music. Trevor Pinnock, one of the foremost exponents of the English Early Music movement, conducted both works at his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

The majority of Mozart’s symphonies date from the composer’s youth; only four works of this genre were composed during the last ten years of his life. Of the last three, which were written under circumstances that have not been fully clarified to this day and were completed during the incredibly brief period from July to August 1788, the Great G minor Symphony is the middle work, between the E flat major and Jupiter Symphonies. It opens, without introduction and above an animated quaver accompaniment, with the first theme, which is characterized by a striking leap of a sixth. Uncertainty, despair, even tragedy can be heard in this work. Mozart composed his Little G minor Symphony, which Pinnock conducts from the harpsichord in this performance, at the age of 17. Due to its tonality, it differs clearly from the entertainment character of many works of this time and because of its experimental style is regarded as an example of Mozart’s Sturm und Drang phase.

The E flat Piano Concerto K. 271, which owes its nickname Jenamy to the composition’s dedicatee, is also one of the most unusual works from Mozart’s earlier years. For example, the orchestral introduction is immediately interrupted by the first entry of the solo instrument, and the Andantino is the composer’s first concerto movement in a minor key. The Brazilian pianist Maria João Pires, who was born in Portugal, has appeared several times as a Mozart interpreter in concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker and on this occasion as well gives an impressive performance with her unpretentious and sensitive playing.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Trevor Pinnock

Maria João Pires