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) Mozart wrote his first symphony in London in 1764/65 at the age of 8. The boy sought his inspiration above all in the works of a German composer who had settled in London: Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of the great Johann Sebastian, who became a lifelong friend of Mozart and exerted a strong influence on his style. The work reflects the Italian opera buffa atmosphere of the young symphonic genre, and its freshness and experimental delight in sonorities anticipate the inventiveness and mastery of Mozart’s later works. 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.

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) Written in Salzburg in 1773, the “Little” G minor (thus distinguished from the “Great” G minor K. 550) is one of the most striking works in the group of nine symphonies Mozart wrote in 1773/74, as well as Mozart’s first symphony in a minor key. Music historians have often wondered about the origin of this stormy and dramatic work that echoes the “Storm and Stress” movement surging through Central Europe at that time. K. 183 also follows the model of the minor-key symphonies of other composers such as Joseph Haydn and, particularly, J. C. Bach, whose Op. 6 No. 6 even contains some similar turns. 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.

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.

The soloist in this concerto conducted by Karl Böhm and played by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is Maurizio Pollini, one of the most enigmatic figures in today’s musical world. Although he approaches the repertoire in a profoundly spiritual manner, Pollini does not ban brilliance and dazzling virtuosity from his playing. His lyrical and intense art makes him predestined for Mozart, whose works he has been interpreting in a completely new light for many years now. Mozart composed this work during a particularly fruitful period in Vienna in 1786, while he was working on “Figaro,” the Masonic Funeral Music and the concertos K. 482 and 491. The A major concerto is one of Mozart’s most beloved, perhaps because of its highly contrasting moods, which nevertheless produce an overal impression of Classical unity: the elegant and polished first movement, the poignantly beautiful “siciliano” slow movement and the exuberant Allegro assai finale. The Mozart interpretations of Karl Böhm (1894-1981) perfectly echo the naturalness and clarity of the maestro’s conducting. Although Wagner was one of his first loves, Böhm soon discovered Mozart’s operas thanks to Bruno Walter, who let him conduct “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” in Munich in the early 1920s. Later, Böhm’s friendship with Richard Strauss led to a still deeper 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 musical genius.” Böhm’s discovery of these secrets turned his Mozart interpretations, such as this one with the celebrated pianist Maurizio Pollini, into unforgettable events.