The Requiem is not only Mozart’s last composition, but also the one most shrouded in mystery. The purportedly enigmatic patron who ordered the work and the fatal illness that befell Mozart while he was working on it long nurtured the macabre legend of Mozart composing his own Requiem mass commissioned by Death himself. The Requiem was completed by Mozart’s friend and pupil Franz Saver Süssmayr on the basis of Mozart’s sketches and instructions. The somber woodwinds and brass, the artless melodies and the stirring shifts from intricate contrapuntal writing to mighty homophonic blocks convey an otherworldly, apocalyptic feeling seldom encountered in Mozart’s works. Despite its almost operatic solo passages and large orchestra, the Requiem was intended for the church, and is indeed an ideal work for the theatrically sumptuous and brilliant Baroque churches of Austria and southern Germany. 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.” Böhm’s discovery of these secrets transformed his Mozart interpretations into unforgettable events. Filmed in Vienna’s resplendent “Piaristenkirche”, this recording of Mozart’s Requiem features the illustrious Mozart singers Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Peter Schreier and Walter Berry.
Mozart, Symphony No.38 in D major, K. 504 “Prague”
Rafael Kubelik (1914-1996) was the son of the well-known Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelik. He studied music in Prague and made his conducting debut at 20 at the head of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Later he became the principal conductor of this famous orchestra and founded the “Prague Spring” Festival. After the Communist takeover of the government, Kubelik emigrated to the West and returned to his native land only after the end of the Communist regime. From 1950 to 1953 he headed the Chicago Symphony, from 1955 to 1958 he was music director of the Covent Garden Opera in London. A period of great artistic successes began in 1961, when he was appointed principal conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Many recordings document Kubelik’s mastery and sense of artistry, his enjoyment of music and his temperament. His connection with the Munich orchestra lasted 18 years; in between, he also briefly served as music director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Kubelik retired from the concert staged in 1985. But on the occasion of the first Prague Spring Festival after the fall of Communism in 1990, he returned to the podium of the Czech Philharmonic after more than 40 years in exile and conducted Smetana’s “My Fatherland” cycle. His profound bonds with his native land and its composers were always clearly visible. Rafael Kubelik was a full-blooded musician. Every performance of his radiated a feeling of spontaneity, impulsiveness and joy. Kubelik died in Lucerne in August 1996 at the age of 82 after a long illness. A symphony for connoisseurs, K. 504 reflects the taste and discernment of the audience it was intended for: the musical public of Prague. Since his “Marriage of Figaro” was the hit of the town in late 1786, Mozart decided to travel to Prague; in his luggage was the D major symphony, premiered on 19 January 1787. Written between “Figaro” and “The Magic Flute,” it shares unmistakable affinities with these two works and even quotes a theme from “Figaro” in the finale. And it is also a work in which Mozart could be completely himself. He thus indulged in a dramatic slow introduction, and in some austere contrapuntal writing in the first movement. Since the wind players in the Bohemian capital were rightly praised for their excellence, Mozart also rewarded them with some truly beautiful pages.
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
Few conductors have mastered the fluidity of melodic control, the rhythmic drive and the dramatic characterization of Mozart’s operas to the extent of Karl Böhm. This production, filmed in London in 1976, abounds in splendid singers, all of whom give performances of the highest vocal and dramatic distinction: Hermann Prey is the definitive Figaro, charming in his vigorous self-confidence; Mirella Freni’s Susanna is a personification of innocence and beauty; Kiri Te Kanawa’s Countess is a touching portrait of wronged womanhood; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s Count is a deceitfully flirtatious despot; and Maria Ewing’s Cherubino is a passionate study of adolescent naivety. Böhm’s wonderfully supple conducting reflects his lifelong devotion to Mozart. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s direction perfectly translates the polished stylishness and the beauty and warmth of Böhm’s musical direction into scenes and character portrayals of luminous naturalness. “And what a gloriously photogenic and euphonious cast led by the uniquely differentiated quartet of Fischer-Dieskau’s subtle Count Almaviva versus Hermann Prey’s defiant Figaro, and Kiri Te Kanawa’s honeyed Countess versus Mirella Freni’s not at all playful Susanna. Great singers all, they were guided by Ponnelle in a production without a moment of cliché¿ The playing of the Vienna Philharmonic under Böhm couldn’t have been more Mozartian.” (The Daily Telegraph, 9.3.77) “A million-dollar TV Figaro that improves on the original… Productions of this caliber have been televised from stages before, but never has the dramatic and visual potential of opera freed from such constraints been so ambitiously addressed. The result is eye-opening, and despite an occasional overuse of the new tools, the production establishes beyond doubt that the TV screen can add an important new dimension to the operatic experience.” (The Washington Post, 5.10.77)
La Clemenza di Tito
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle was in great part responsible for making the musical world aware of the true importance of Mozart’s last opera “La Clemenza di Tito” and for the fact that the opera is now regularly performed all over the world. He created a television version of his Salzburg Festival production of this work, an “opera seria” which Mozart composed in 1791 for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II in Prague. Ponnelle makes use of the wonderful gardens and ruins of Hadrian’s Villa, the Thermae of Caracalla and Rome’s Forum Romanum not because of their authenticity, but because of their unique atmospheric quality. The humanity of Mozart’s characters is fully expressed thanks to the conductor James Levine and the outstanding cast of singer-actors led by the grandiose Tatiana Troyanos as Sextus and Eric Tappy as a commanding Tito.
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart Matinee with Kyohei Sorita
“It’s all there in this Mozart adventure” (Kronenzeitung): Making his debut at the Salzburg Festival, Japanese pianist and conductor Kyohei Sorita (“a breath of fresh air” – Drehpunktkultur) performs two important piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart alongside the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg as part of the traditional Mozart
Matinees in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation. PROGRAM: Symphony in G major K. 318, Piano concerto in E-flat major K. 271 ‘Jeunehomme’, Overture from Le nozze di Figaro K. 492; Piano concerto in D major K. 537 ‘Coronation’; Alla Turca (Allegretto) from the Piano Sonata in A, K. 331 (encore)
Salzburg Festival 2024: Mozart Matinee with Fischer & Sternath
Hungarian born Adam Fischer is one of the most important conductors working today, chief conductor of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. He joins this Mozart Matinee in company of pianist Lukas Sternath, winner of several international piano competitions such as 63rd International Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition in Bolzano, the 14th International Schubert Competition in Dortmund and the 17th European Piano Competition in Bremen. Program: Mozart: Maurerische Trauermusik in C minor K. 477 (479a); Piano Concerto in D minor K. 466 (solo cadenzas by Ludwig van Beethoven); Symphony in C major K. 425 — ’Linz’.
Salzburg Festival 2024: Mozart Matinee with Gonzalez-Monjas & Pogorelc
The rising American soprano Emily Pogorelc is considered one of the most gifted singers of her generation, and is celebrated for her captivating stage presence. Under the baton of the new appointed conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Roberto González-Monjas, an entire Mozart program is presented to the audience of Salzburg Festival. Program: W. A. Mozart, Ballet music to the opera Idomeneo K. 367 (extracts); Se il padre perdei, Ilia’s aria from the oprera Idomeneo K. 366; Solitudini amiche — Zeffiretti lusinghieri, Ilia’s recitative and aria from the oprea Idomeneo K. 366;Entr’actes to the drama Thamos, König in Ägypten K. 345 (336a,; Schon lacht der holde Frühling, Aria for soprano and orchestra K. 580; Voi avete un cor fedele, Aria for soprano and orchestra K. 217; Bella mia fiamma, addio — Resta, o cara, Recitative and aria for soprano and orchestra K. 528
Gonzales-Monjas, Villazon & Mozarteum Orchestra
New Mozarteumorchester Salzburg chief conductor Roberto González-Monjas and his orchestra are a pair that has “sought and found” (APA) each other, perform Salieri’s rarely heard Sinfonia “Il giorno onomastico”. The concert is bookended by Mozart’s first and last symphonies, for which González-Monjas “presented a striking interpretative calling card” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Rolando Villazón completes the evening with three of Mozart’s arias, utilizing his full range as a performer: “The arch-comedian […] plays all his trump cards of dramatic and gestural, but also vocal expressiveness” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Mozart: Symphony in E flat major, K. 16; “Va’ dal furor portata”, K. 21, Aria for tenor and orchestra; From La clemenza di Tito, K. 621: Aria of Tito “Se all’impero, amici dèi”; “Con ossequio, con rispetto”, K. 210, Aria for tenor and orchestra; Symphony in C major, K. 551 “Jupiter”; Salieri: Symphony in D major “Il giorno onomastico” (arr. Pietro Spada)
Opening Concert Mozart Week 2023
Ivor Bolton, who was chief conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra from 2004 to 2016, returns to Salzburg for a special concert: designed in the style of an 18th-century “academy”, it offers a colourful mix of early and late works, large and small form, instrumental and vocal works. Solo support comes from violinist Clarissa Bevilacqua with Mozart’s Adagio in E major and Rondo in C major. The young Italian won the “Salzburg Mozart Competition” in 2020 in the violin category as well as the prize for the best Mozart interpretation. Austrian baritone Rafael Fingerlos sings selected arias from Bastien und Bastienne and Zaide. “A Mozart cross-section of high sensual appeal” (Kronenzeitung).
Jordi Savall conducts Mozart’s Requiem
The Catalan old master, conductor, gambist and musicologist Jordi Savall, one of the greatest interpreters of historically informed performance practice, joins the Mozart Music Week with his orchestra “Le Concert des Nations” and his “Capella de Catalunya” choir. Playing exclusively on original instruments or instruments built according to historical specifications, Savall juxtaposes two of Mozart’s most famous and popular works: his Serenade No. 13, K. 525, better known by its nickname “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”, and his Requiem, which remained unfinished and has since been the subject of wildest speculation and mysterious conspiracy theories. “The performers succeed in making the well-known piece sound fresh and by no means banal. […] Despite the many excellent perfor mances available on record, Savall’s interpretation sounded unique.” (Das Opernmagazin)