Mozart's Completion of Symphonies No. 39, 40, and 41

Background. By 1788 Mozart was keeping a full catalog of his completed works, which is why the completion dates of his late symphonies are known exactly. The three final symphonies were written during an exceptionally productive few weeks in the summer of 1788, with No. 39 finished first on 26 June, followed by No. 40 on 25 July and No. 41 on 10 August.

The Three Symphonies. Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543, was completed on 26 June 1788. Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, followed on 25 July; it is one of Mozart's most celebrated works and one of only two extant minor-key symphonies by him. Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, his longest and last symphony, was completed on 10 August and later acquired the nickname Jupiter, probably coined by impresario Johann Peter Salomon.

Interpretation and Context. Nikolaus Harnoncourt argued that Mozart composed the three symphonies as a unified work, noting that No. 40, as the middle work, has no introduction unlike No. 39, and lacks a finale on the scale of No. 41's. One scholar has suggested the set may have been occasioned by the Austro-Turkish War of 1788–1791, noting that the day after finishing No. 41 Mozart completed the patriotic song "Beim Auszug in das Feld", K. 552.