“Haffner” Symphony no. 35 in D major, K. 385

Mozart composed the “Haffner” Symphony, K. 385, between late July and early August 1782 to celebrate the ennoblement of his Salzburg friend, Sigmund Haffner. With the event fast approaching, Leopold Mozart urged his son to work quickly. But Wolfgang was already under intense pressure—racing to be the first to complete a wind arrangement of his newly premiered opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) before a competitor could publish one and reap the profits, finalizing plans for his marriage to Constanze, and preparing to move into a new apartment. Despite these overlapping demands, the “Haffner” Symphony is one of Mozart’s greatest works, still widely performed and recorded today. The first printed edition, seen in the case at left, was published by Artaria in December 1785.