Mozart, Symphony No.31 in D major, K. 297 “Paris”

Filmed mainly in Vienna's splendid "Musikvereinssaal," the Mozart symphonies conducted by Karl Böhm are all interpreted by one of the world's foremost orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose principal conductors have included Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and, of course, Karl Böhm. "Thanks to Bruno Walter's exemplary performances, particularly of Mozart's works, I grabbed on to Mozart and fell in love with him so much that I had only one wish: to conduct Mozart, Mozart, Mozart." (Karl Böhm) Unhappy with his situation in Salzburg, Mozart undertook a journey to Mannheim and Paris with his mother in 1778. The trip was overshadowed by tragedy - Mozart's mother died in Paris - and was almost a complete failure. Almost, for it did give birth to a masterpiece like the "Paris Symphony," written for the illustrious "Concerts Spirituels." Knowing of the Parisians' taste for brilliance and splendor, Mozart wrote a grand symphony for large orchestra, glowing with mellow woodwinds and ablaze with brass. Karl Böhm was universally acclaimed for his Mozart interpretations. Though Wagner was one of Böhm's first loves, his friendship with Richard Strauss led to a deep knowledge and appreciation of Mozart. In his autobiography, Böhm wrote that "Richard Strauss revealed to me the ultimate secrets of this, in my opinion, greatest of all musical geniuses, Mozart." Filmed in Vienna's splendid "Musikvereinssaal", this work is interpreted by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestra with which Böhm made many of his finest recordings.