Mozart Symphony No. 40, Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"

Includes Symphony No. 40, K.550; and Symphony No. 41, K551 "Jupiter." By the time Mozart turned twenty he was already one of the most skilled composers of his day. His output included not only symphonies and concertos but piano pieces, serenades, arias, operas and smaller species of musical theater, songs and church music. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor forms the centerpiece of the "final trilogy." It is a work of complex character, one whose music embodies passion and formal elegance, sorrow and exultation, darkness and light. Mozart's brilliant use of counterpoint, the simultaneous sounding of different melodic strands, makes the finale of his "Jupiter" Symphony one of the outstanding musical achievements of the Classical period.

Each CD package includes two CDs. The first, a Musical Performance Disk, features the top performers and symphony orchestras in the world, performing the best-loved music from the classical music Greats.

Accompanying the Musical Performance Disc is a Conductor's Guide on a separate CD. Here, Maestro Gerard Schwarz discusses the musical performances in depth--movement by movement, section by section--using examples from the recorded performances. There's no better, more enjoyable way to get a basic education in classical music.

You'll also receive a 16-page printed copy of Concert Notes, featuring the unique Music Disc Timeline, which is written to synchronize with the elapsed time display of your CD player. As you play the music on the Performance Disc, you can see exactly where the things that Maestro Schwarz discussed take place in the music. It's like looking into the score--but you don't have to know how to read music!  more