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Mozart rarely composed with no particular purpose in mind. Generally, his works were written on commission, or for his own concerts, or as gifts for friends. Such transactions were usually cataloged in the composer's letters and writings. However, in this case, the historical record is silent. Music scholars have found no evidence of a commission; no one paid for these symphonies to be written. Perhaps Mozart composed them on speculation, in hopes of selling them or presenting them in a Viennese concert. If so, he was disappointed, for they were not published during his lifetime, and there is no clear evidence of a performance. Nevertheless, the sudden burst of activity does suggest that the composer had some objective in mind, and it now seems that his goal may have been a London tour. As a child, Mozart had spent over a year living in London, absorbing the musical ambience. Even in adulthood in Vienna, he had several close English friends, and since at least 1786, he had spoken of traveling to London to present a concert series. In the event of such a tour, it was customary for composers to bring new works, preferably a set of three or six symphonies. Haydn did exactly that when he came to London in the 1790s. Scholars now suggest that, several years before Haydn's journey, Mozart wrote these three symphonies while dreaming of a similar excursion, though he never embarked upon the adventure.
Two of these last three symphonies have gained much popular attention. The final one, number forty-one, is known as the "Jupiter" symphony for its jovial nature, and, since at least Schumann's day, has been praised for the magnificent fugue with which the work concludes. Symphony no. 40, though lacking a nickname, is equally admired, and in its case earns extra notice for being one of only two Mozart symphonies written in a minor key. But the first of this set of three symphonies, no. 39 in E-flat, has seen little time in the spotlight. It deserves better. It is, like the finest of Mozart's works, a felicitous blend of joyful exuberance and somber introspection, delicate smiles and hearty laughter, carefully counter-balancing each other through the ebb and flow of ever-changing melodies. There are graceful themes for strings and perky ones for woodwinds, particularly for clarinets, which stood high in the composer's affections at this point in his career. Taken in its entirety, the Symphony no. 39 is refreshing to the ear, its pleasures only intensified by the fact that it is not much performed. Here is a work of inspiration that, due to its rarity, can still surprise and delight.