Conductor, E. GODFREY BROWN
HOOTON MITCHELL (bass)
PHILIP WHITEWAY (violin)
IN 1748, the year following the production of Don Giovanni , Mozart wrote his last three great symphonies (E flat, (; minor, and C major) in six weeks. This would have been a remarkable feat if the symphonies had been ordinary in quality, but when they represent the highest achievements of Mozart in this form, remaining today a great landmark in the history of the symphony, it was phenomenal.
The Symphony in E flat is scored for an orchestra consisting of strings, one flute, two horns, two trumpets, and timpani. Although composed about three years before his tragic death and at a time when poverty and ill-health were doing their best to crush his spirit, there is no reflection in the E flat Symphony of his mental tribulation. The music is as happy and gay as anything could be, and if it reflected anything at all it was the youthful and optimistic side of the composer's nature.