Unlike symphonies by composers which are their ‘last’ and imply that death prevented them from writing another, Mozart wrote his set of three symphonies in 1788 – a good three years before death. Symphonies weren’t making him money, and so he didn’t write 42 onwards.
The last three can be seen as a set – a formal and grand opening in 39 (in E flat major), with 40 (in G minor) as a sort of elongated slow movement, and 41 (in C major) concluding the trio of works. This is particularly apt given that 40 and 41 do not have formal introductions as was common in the Classical symphony as you can see in the opening movements of other contemporary symphonies.
So this, the grand opening to the final three, is a grand and graceful symphony – it opens not unlike Piano Concerto No.22, also in E flat major, with grand chords, in this case answered by descending string scales, and eventually giving away to a fairly uninteresting melody in the Allegro – of more interest is how he handles the orchestration.
The second movement is in truncated sonata form (no development), and is a typically charming Mozartian slow movement. The Minuet and Trio are more robust – the Minuet is based on the Ländler (an Austrian folk dance known to fans of The Sound of Music), and look out for the low register (chalumeau) of the second clarinet in the Trio.
The finale is energetic scalic joy, with a dramatic development section.
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