Symphony No. 41

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s final symphony, completed in 1788 and commonly known as the Jupiter Symphony. Its expansive finale combines sonata form with a five-theme contrapuntal culmination.

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Sonata form: A musical form built around contrasting themes, tonal movement, and a return to the opening material. The finale uses sonata-form proportions while developing several themes contrapuntally.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: An Austrian composer of the Classical period, celebrated for operas, concertos, chamber music, and symphonies. Mozart composed this symphony in 1788 as the last of his numbered symphonies.
Classical symphony: An orchestral genre that developed in the eighteenth century, typically organized into several contrasting movements. No. 41 expands the established Classical symphony through its scale and contrapuntal finale.
Jupiter Symphony: The customary nickname for Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, not a title given by Mozart. The nickname frames the work as monumental, though its origin is uncertain.
Counterpoint: The combination of independent melodic lines into a coherent musical texture. The finale’s closing pages make multiple themes sound together through learned counterpoint.
Mozart's late symphonies: The final group of symphonies Mozart composed, including Nos. 39, 40, and 41. No. 41 concludes the three-symphony sequence Mozart wrote in the summer of 1788.
First movement: The opening Allegro vivace movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C major. Its sonata-form design establishes the work’s scale and energetic character.
Johann Peter Salomon: A German-born violinist and impresario who organized concerts in London and promoted Haydn’s music. He is often credited with popularizing the Jupiter nickname, though the attribution is uncertain.
Fugue: A contrapuntal composition in which a subject is imitated and developed across interweaving voices. The finale’s fugal passages draw on techniques associated with this form.
Symphony No. 39: Mozart’s E-flat-major symphony completed in 1788, the first of his final three symphonies. It begins the compact late-symphony sequence that culminates in No. 41.