Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giordano Bellincampi.
Giordano Bellincampi conducts the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Photo: Adrian Malloch
Mozart was all the rage in Prague at the end of 1786. His latest opera, The Marriage of Figaro, had thrilled music lovers there and won rave reviews
With his Symphony No 38, Mozart gave his Prague audience a symphony as exuberant as Figaro to whistle in the streets.
By this time, Mozart usually wrote four-movement symphonies, but the Prague has only three. He does without the minuet because of the scale of this symphony's first two movements, and also because apparently, the people in Prague preferred their symphonies that way.
The Prague is also one of the few Mozart symphonies to feature a slow introduction to the first movement – a common practice for Haydn but rare for Mozart. This is the longest single symphony movement of the 18th century.
The Symphony No 38 ‘Prague’ is a deeply expressive, boundary-pushing symphonic drama, bursting with ideas and creativity.
Recorded by RNZ Concert, Auckland Town Hall, 24 February 2022
Producer: Tim Dodd
Engineer: Adrian Hollay
