{"id":44885,"date":"2024-07-05T12:42:05","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T10:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eba8f445-490e-495f-8e49-022ffa5568c7"},"modified":"2024-07-05T13:36:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T11:36:09","slug":"best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of Mozart: nine essential works by the Austrian master of melody &#8211; and the recordings you need"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By <\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Friday, 05 July 2024 at 10:42 AM<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\" standalone=\"yes\"?>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>Wolfgang Amadeus <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart\">Mozart<\/a><\/strong> was perhaps classical music&#8217;s most supremely gifted melodist, with apologies to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/franz-schubert\">Schubert<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/felix-mendelssohn\">Mendelssohn<\/a><\/strong> and quite a few others. His vast back catalogue includes countless gems from most of the classical music forms and configurations out there, from operas and sacred music via symphonies and concertos, on through <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-chamber-music\">chamber music<\/a><\/strong> to some wonderful works for solo piano. <\/p><script src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/xjL98ot4-lqFafnwo.js\"\/><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-of-mozart-some-unmissable-works-from-the-great-composer\">Best of Mozart: some unmissable works from the great composer<\/h2><p>We hummed and hawed and deliberated over this one - selecting just a few great works from a composer with such a huge and almost universally exquisite back catalogue is a hard job indeed. Few <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/\">composers<\/a><\/strong> would present us with such a challenge, although <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\">Bach<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/george-frideric-handel\">Handel<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/antonio-vivaldi\">Vivaldi<\/a><\/strong> and Schubert (again) would all be tough asks as well. But here goes:<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/six-best-vivaldi-works\">Vivaldi: six of his best works<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/bach-beginners-recordings-help-you-discover-bach\">Bach for beginners: the music to help you discover the great composer<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-requiem-1791-unfinished\">1. Requiem (1791, unfinished)<\/h3><p>The Requiem occupies a very particular niche in the classical, operatic and sacred music world. The greatest Requiems - those by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/gabriel-faure\">Faur\u00e9<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/giuseppe-verdi\">Verdi<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/johannes-brahms\">Brahms<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/benjamin-britten-composer\">Britten<\/a><\/strong>, for example - sit somewhere along a spectrum in their depiction of death and the afterlife as either a place of hellfire and brimstone, or somewhere blissful and serene.\u00a0<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/best-recordings-faures-requiem\">Faur\u00e9 Requiem: four great recordings<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/verdis-requiem-guide\">A quick guide to Verdi's Requiem<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/story-behind-mozarts-requiem\/\">Mozart\u2019s 1791 Requiem<\/a><\/strong> is a masterpiece of sacred music: a work of peerless beauty, power and pathos. Not all of it, we should point out, is actually by\u00a0Mozart, as the composer died midway through its composition, leaving some movements complete, some in sketch form and some untouched, with the job then being finished by Franz Xaver S\u00fcssmayr. <\/p><p>At the emotional heart of this exceptional work is its most poignant movement, the Lacrimosa, of which Mozart wrote eight bars before breathing his last.<\/p><p>Recommended recording: Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra\/Carlo Maria Giulini <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B006LL030E\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart - Lacrimosa\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k1-TrAvp_xs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-vesperae-solennes-de-confessore-solemn-vespers-for-a-confessor\">2. Vesperae solennes de confessore (Solemn Vespers for a Confessor)<\/h3><p>Mozart wrote several choral pieces, but few are as ravishing as the solo towards the end of this otherwise lively work.<\/p><p>The Solemn Vespers is scored for\u00a0SATB\u00a0choir and soloists,\u00a0plus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/violin-history\"><strong>violin<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-history-of-the-trumpet-its-invention-evolution-and-famous-trumpet-makers\"><strong>trumpets<\/strong><\/a>, trombones, timpani, and\u00a0basso continuo\u00a0(the latter featuring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/whats-a-cello\"><strong>cello<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/double-bass-guide\"><strong>double bass<\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/organ-history\"><strong>organ<\/strong><\/a>, and optional\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/the-bassoon-a-guide-to-the-orchestras-largest-wind-instrument\"><strong>bassoon<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0obbligato). It consists of six psalms, the first three of which have a cheerful, even exuberant mood. There's then a more austere fourth psalm (sung a capella) and a serene and tranquil fifth movement before, in the closing Magnificat, a return to the bold, optimistic mood of the first three movements. <\/p><p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Kiri Te Kanawa; London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus\/Sir Colin Davis Philips 412 8732<\/p><p\/><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Mozart: Complete Edition Vol.11: Vespers, Oratorios etc\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/1wl55XIEpgU1xIq4iTb9UK?utm_source=oembed&amp;go=1&amp;play=1&amp;nd=1&amp;nd=1\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/10-mozart-myths\"><strong>10 Mozart myths<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-string-quartet-no-19-in-c-dissonance-1785\">3. String Quartet No. 19 in C, \u2018Dissonance\u2019 (1785)<\/h3><p>The final string quartet <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/mozart\"><strong>Mozart<\/strong><\/a> composed for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/joseph-haydn-2\"><strong>Haydn<\/strong><\/a>-dedicated set, this famous <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-string-quartet\">string quartet<\/a><\/strong> starts with a harmonically adventurous passage. It was noted especially for its divergence\u2014especially in the slow introduction\u2014from the then-standard rules of\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-harmony-in-music\">harmony<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><p>The\u00a0six so-called 'Haydn Quartets' were dedicated to the Austrian composer - and were inspired by Haydn\u2019s own (six) Opus 33 string quartets. <\/p><p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong>Belcea QuartetEMI 344 4552<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Mozart: String Quartets, K. 465 &quot;Dissonance&quot; &amp; K. 499 &quot;Hoffmeister&quot;\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/566PDxwWFNZqaFjFNDySn7?utm_source=oembed&amp;go=1&amp;play=1&amp;nd=1&amp;nd=1\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p> <\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/10-mozart-works-you-might-not-know\"><strong>10 Mozart works you might not know<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/best-recordings-beethovens-moonlight-sonata\"><strong>The best recordings of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-piano-concerto-no-21-in-c-k467-1785\">4. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K467 (1785)<\/h3><p>Mozart\u2019s Piano Concertos are among his greatest achievements, revealing both his orchestral skill and his sense of drama. Choosing one from the 26 completed concertos is no small task - but we'll select, by the very smallest of margins, number 21, thanks to its joyous and exciting first movement and its almost preternaturally serene slow movement. That movement's use in the film of the same name has earned number 21 the nickname of the 'Elvira Madigan', and it's certainly one of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/tv-and-film-music\/six-best-classical-pieces-film\">most effective uses of classical music on film<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart - Piano concerto No 21, Elvira Madigan - Best-of Classical Music\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CVKpvD3X6EM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>In all honesty, though, we'd urge you to move swiftly on to various other Mozart piano concertos as soon as you've got a handle on this one. Numbers 17, 19, 22, 23 and 25 are all absolute stunners, as are - of course - the two great minor key concertos, numbers 20 and 24 - the latter, in particular, anticipating the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-romantic-composers\">Romantic<\/a><\/strong> mood with its expressive piano writing and stormy mood. <\/p><p>Number 20, in fact, got the vote as Mozart's representative in our rundown of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/greatest-piano-concertos-all-time\">greatest piano concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong>. Which just goes to show what an extraordinary seqwuence of masterpieces Mozart's late piano concertos represent: any one of them could be selected as the greatest piano concerto by Mozart or, frankly, anyone. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-cello-concertos-of-all-time\">Greatest cello concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Jonathan Biss; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra EMI 217 2702<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B001B1R1FE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 &amp; 22\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/133vQ1RqPUYZ1ch8XmevM4?utm_source=oembed&amp;go=1&amp;play=1&amp;nd=1&amp;nd=1\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p> <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-rachmaninovs-piano-concerto-no-2\/\">The best recordings of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2<\/a><\/strong><\/li><li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/mozart-piano-concertos-best-recordings\/\"><strong>Mozart's Piano Concertos<\/strong>: <strong>best recordings<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-more-best-of-mozart-a-serenade-an-opera-a-symphony-and-more\">More best of Mozart: a serenade, an opera, a symphony and more<\/h2><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-serenade-no-10-gran-partita\">5. Serenade No. 10 'Gran Partita'<\/h3><p>The work most commonly known as the 'Gran Partita' is in fact the tenth in a series of wind serenades by Mozart, which also includes <em>Eine Kleine Nachtmusik<\/em>. The\u00a0<strong>Serenade No. 10<\/strong>\u00a0for winds in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/B-flat_major\">B-flat major<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/K%C3%B6chel_catalogue\">K<\/a>. 361\/370a, to give it its fulll title, is scored for 12 wind instruments (two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/oboe-vs-clarinet\"><strong>oboes<\/strong><\/a>, two\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/history-of-the-clarinet-its-invention-evolution-and-famous-clarinet-makers\"><strong>clarinets<\/strong><\/a>, two\u00a0basset horns, two\u00a0bassoons, and four\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/the-history-of-the-french-horn\">horns<\/a><\/strong>)\u00a0and\u00a0double bass.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart : S\u00e9r\u00e9nade No.10 &quot;Gran Partita&quot; (Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/k0ig72-rj0s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>The piece is heard in the great 1984 Mozart film <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/amadeus-the-greatest-film-about-classical-music\">Amadeus<\/a><\/strong><\/em>. It features at the first meeting between Mozart and his would-be rival, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/antonio-salieri\">Salieri<\/a><\/strong>. The latter has, so far, not been that taken with his younger rival. However, a look at the sheet musi for the Gran Partita changes his mind. 'This was no composition by a performing monkey,' he muses. 'This was a music I'd never heard. Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.'<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-the-marriage-of-figaro-opera-1786\">6. The Marriage of Figaro (opera, 1786)<\/h3><p>How to choose a favourite from among the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/six-best-mozart-operas\">Mozart operas<\/a><\/strong>? This category is just as difficult as any of the others we've visited thus far. <\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-operas-for-beginners\">Best operas for beginners: five operas newbies will love<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-mozart-magic-flute\">The Magic Flute<\/a><\/strong><\/em>? <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/mozarts-don-giovanni-best-recordings\">Don Giovanni<\/a><\/strong><\/em>? <em>Cos\u00ec fan Tutte<\/em>? <em>Idomeneo<\/em>? All are strong candidates, but if forced to choose one we'll go for the work we voted the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/mozart-s-marriage-figaro-voted-greatest-opera-all-time\">greatest opera of all time<\/a><\/strong>: the wonderful <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/mozarts-marriage-of-figaro-guide\">Marriage of Figaro<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p><p>Mozart\u2019s comic masterpiece courted controversy by showing a vain aristocrat being bested by his servants, but continues to entertain with its brilliant depth of characterisation.<\/p><p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong>Sena Jurinac, Graziella Scuitti, Rise Stevens; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus &amp; Orchestra\/Vittorio GuiEMI 476 9422<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: The Marriage of Figaro\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/6QXWz39QkbXAwLV0ybJ0lL?utm_source=oembed&amp;go=1&amp;play=1&amp;nd=1&amp;nd=1\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/six-great-contemporary-operas\"><strong>Six great contemporary operas<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-violin-concerto-no-5-1775\">7. Violin Concerto No. 5 (1775)<\/h3><p>As with many forms in which Mozart composed, choosing a favourite violin concerto is quite a tough one. We could easily have gone for the popular and hugely melodic Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3 - but in fact we're going to opt for, by a whisker, the final one of the five. Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5, which we included in our list of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-violin-concertos-of-all-time\">greatest violin concertos of all time<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MOZART, Violin Concerto, No. 5 - Julia Fischer\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vudKSLyeWEg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure><p>So, why number 5? Well, partly because the orchestra has more to do in this final concerto, where in the other four it has largely accompanied the violin part. But there's also that memorable Finale, with its so-called 'Turkish' elements: a nod to a contemporary craze for all things Ottoman.<\/p><p>By the way, why not take a look at our recommendations for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/mozart-violin-concertos-the-best-recordings\">Mozart violin concertos best recordings<\/a><\/strong>?<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-8-symphony-no-41-1788\">8. Symphony No. 41 (1788)<\/h3><p>In an extraordinary burst of creativity, Mozart composed his last three symphonies in less than three months \u2013 and every one a masterpiece. So we come to another of Mozart's bodies of work where it's nigh impossible to choose one work over another (or several others). But if you want to hold our feet to the fire over this, we'll choose the very last Mozart symphony, number 41, also known as the 'Jupiter' Symphony. <\/p><p>That's in large part down to its miraculous final movement, surely classical music's most dazzling fugal creation, with no fewer than five complex and beautiful melodies weaving ingeniously (and, as the movement goes on, ever more movingly) around each other. Not for noting did we select the 'Jupiter' as one of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/20-greatest-symphonies-all-time\">greatest symphonies of all time<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p><p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Scottish Chamber Orchestra\/Sir Charles Mackerras Linn CKD 308<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Mozart - Symphonies\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/44I5COvsqukKGWeZpD4vtM?utm_source=oembed&amp;go=1&amp;play=1&amp;nd=1&amp;nd=1\"\/><\/div><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/20-greatest-symphonies-all-time\"><strong>The 20 greatest symphonies of all time<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-9-clarinet-concerto-1791\">9. Clarinet Concerto (1791)<\/h3><p>The composer's final concerto, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-mozarts-clarinet-concerto\">Clarinet Concerto<\/a><\/strong> was completed less than three months before Mozart passed away in December 1791. It's a piece that seems to excite varying emotional responses: some listeners find an atmosphere of unalloyed joy, others will detect darker shades just underneath that cheerful surface. <\/p><p>That's not the only intriguing ambiguity to this work, either. We also have the question: \u2018what sort of clarinet was it written for?\u2019 Mozart would have composed this work for the clarinet with which he would have been familiar: the basset clarinet. That instrument\u00a0has a deeper range than a modern clarinet, and as a result the work, when played on a basset clarinet, has a slightly darker colour. There are now several recordings available with a basset clarinet solo part, and we'd recommend sampling one of them, just to get a different take on this undoubted masterpiece. <\/p><p><strong>Recommended recording: <\/strong>Thea King\u00a0(clarinet); English Chamber Orchestra\/Jeffrey Tate\u00a0(Hyperion CDA66199)<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mozart's Mozart Clarinet Concerto \u2013 performed live by Michael Collins and the London Mozart Players\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R8bVfZTbMoo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Friday, 05 July 2024 at 10:42 AM Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was perhaps classical music&#8217;s most supremely gifted melodist, with apologies to Schubert, Mendelssohn and quite a few others. His vast back catalogue includes countless gems from most of the classical music forms and configurations out there, from operas and sacred music via symphonies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":44886,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"7"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need.jpg",2560,1656,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-300x194.jpg",300,194,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-768x497.jpg",768,497,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-1024x662.jpg",800,517,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-1536x994.jpg",1536,994,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/07\/best-of-mozart-nine-essential-works-by-the-austrian-master-of-melody-and-the-recordings-you-need-2048x1325.jpg",2048,1325,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Friday, 05 July 2024 at 10:42 AM Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was perhaps classical music&#8217;s most supremely gifted melodist, with apologies to Schubert, Mendelssohn and quite a few others. His vast back catalogue includes countless gems from most of the classical music forms and configurations out there, from operas and sacred music via symphonies&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/44885"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}