201 Symphony No.40
Mozart

Another Mozart faller: this, the 6th of his 18 entries, is down 21 places.

Symphony No. 40 is arguably the most popular of Mozart's forty-one symphonies, despite the fact that its first movement became one of the most annoying ringtones of the mobile phones of the 1990s.

It was probably quite popular in Mozart's lifetime, too. Although scholars can’t be absolutely certain, it would appear Mozart performed it more than once, going on to rescore it for slightly different musical forces. It has one of the catchiest opening movements of any symphony. The work was said to have soon come to the attention of Beethoven and as well as paying homage to its composition by writing out passages in his own hand, he is thought to have been inspired by the last movement when he wrote his own Symphony No.5.

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