I. Adagio – Allegro II. Andante III. Finale. Presto

Mozart recorded on the manuscript that he completed it on December 6th 1786. Polishing off other earlier commissions, he soon set off for Prague, where he spent a month. He took with him the new symphony in D major, which was presumably written for Prague, and which was premiered on January 19th (this is where the symphony obtained the nickname Prague). Interestingly, Mozart wrote no symphonies for Vienna during his maturity, until the final three written in 1788. His popularity in Vienna was then waning, but he was welcomed with great enthusiasm in Prague. "They talk of nothing else but Figaro … they treat me with all manner of politeness and respect, and Prague is truly a very beautiful and pleasant city" – wrote Mozart in a letter to Vienna. He appeared as both pianist and conductor. He himself conducted a performance of Figaro and the new symphony. His successes in Prague led to an important commission: when he returned to Vienna, he had a commission for Don Giovanni in his pocket. Unusually, the Prague symphony comprises of just three movements. This was not for aesthetic reasons. Mozart believed that the people of Prague were accustomed to three movement symphonies that dispensed with the menuet.
The tonality of D major is associated in Mozart with splendour and joy, but the compositional technique is based on the principal of motific development, rather than the use of fixed thematic material. The work opens with a more weighty and extended slow introduction than in any other earlier Mozart symphony. The use of a slow introduction was one of Haydn’s tried and tested techniques, but more intimate relations between the two composer’s "master and pupil" works can be observed. The thematic working of the first movement is exceptionally unified, which is presumably the influence of Haydn. Its form is unsual among opening symphonic movements, and more resembles the ritornello structure of the C major piano concerto K 503, which immediately preceded the Prague Symphony. It seems that while writing the symphony, this compositional technique excited Mozart.
The lyric Andante is based on developing and continually changing repetitions of brief motific thoughts. This music has an amorous beauty to it, prefiguring the world of Don Giovanni. The atmospheric contrast produced by the dark tone of the central section, creates for the listener the Mozartean duality of joy and pain.
The music of the Finale has a more abandoned character. It relates to the music of Figaro, or rather the atmosphere of the opera’s most joyous moments. We can sense all the exciting action and unexpected twists of plot so abundant in the stage comedy. Naturally, it is the purely musical ideas, devoid of all ideas of external associations, that make this movement so exciting.
We can regard the Prague symphony and other works composed at this time as ushering in Mozart’s later more refined and deeper style, with its developement in the direction of counterpoint and elaboration.