Born in Vienna

Concert 3 Program

W. A. Mozart Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute): Overture K.620 [7′]

Schubert Symphony No.9 in C major D.944 The Great [48′]
I. Andante; Allegro ma non troppo
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
IV. Allegro vivace

Program Note

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert both had their lives cut tragically short by illness – passing away at 35 and 31 respectively. What masterpieces would they have gone on to create if they have been able to continue composing for decades?

While the answer to that question may elude us, it’s clear from the vitality of their final compositions that they would have continued to captivate audiences.

In 1791, Mozart was approached by friend and collaborator Emanuel Schickaneder to work on a comic opera. The result? His beloved Die Zauberflöte. This opera has something for everyone: a whimsical magical setting, a battle between the forces of good and evil, and happy endings all round.

Mozart and Schickaneder were both Masons – and Die Zauberflöte contains many allusions to Masonic rituals and symbols. The number three has great significance for the Masons, and the overture opens with three solemn chords bolstered by trombones. Over the course of the overture, Mozart contrasts the sombre music associated with the priest Sarastro with the flighty music associated with the Queen of the Night.

Mozart conducted the premiere and lived to see the first months of the opera’s season, but sadly never saw it go on to become a runaway success.

Schubert’s Ninth Symphony was the composer’s last completed symphonic work. The facts of Schubert’s life are quite astounding when we consider the place he occupies in the classical canon. While he’s now one of the most celebrated composers in history, during his lifetime he struggled to gain mainstream recognition. In fact, he only saw one public concert of his works during his lifetime.

So with this in mind it is less surprising that Schubert never heard his Ninth Symphony performed. Ten years after Schubert’s death, Robert Schumann paid a visit to the composer’s brother Ferdinand. During this visit, Ferdinand passed on the score of the symphony and Schumann was enraptured, describing the piece as having ‘heavenly length’. The premiere of the symphony took place under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn in Leipzig in 1839.

Schubert began working on the symphony in 1825. The nickname the ‘The Great’ refers to the size of the symphony, running at nearly an hour, and differentiates the piece from his other symphony in C major. This symphony is a grand departure from his earlier symphonies which are much lighter and in line with Mozart’s symphonic works.

The first movement opens with a solo folk-like melody on the horns and moves through bucolic melodies with triumphant energy. The second andante con molto movement features a beguiling lilting melody heard on the oboe and later the clarinet. A jagged motif on the strings opens the third movement which transforms into sweeping, cinematic vistas. The allegro vivace finale hurtles to the finish line with boundless energy.

Susanne Stähr wrote for the Berlin Philharmonic that “the near-obsessive, almost painful repetition of rhythms and tone sequences reveals the deeper layers and ambiguity of this music, in which joy and sorrow, exuberance and despair lie perilously close together.”

– Stella Joseph-Jarecki, 2025

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