Symphony No. 40 New York Performances

Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor (1788) distills late‑18th‑century unease into four tightly argued movements, where restless string figures and sudden harmonic turns keep pressing forward. At David Geffen Hall, conductor Jeannette Sorrell leads with an ear for proportion and clarity, joined by featured players including clarinetist Anthony McGill and concertmaster Sonya Headlam. New York has lived with this symphony for generations through the city’s orchestral institutions, treating it less as a monument than a recurring point of reference. One can hear how restraint, here, sharpens the drama rather than softening it.