ConcertPulse
Sir Simon Rattle
Today, they are usually heard separately. However, there is much to suggest that Mozart’s last three symphonies form an inner unity, a triad, a world of their own. The number 3 possesses symbolic significance and appears numerous times, for example in the three repeated chords at the beginning and end of the Jupiter Symphony. Particular pitch patterns create coherence. And the fact that the symphonies can be regarded as a self-contained, interrelated triptych is also due to their diversity. Each has its own sound world (with a different set of wind instruments), possesses a distinctive expressive range, and is based on unique musical archetypes. With the last three symphonies, Sir Simon Rattle continues his BRSO Mozart cycle, which began with Idomeneo and is far from over.