Mozart’s last symphony, the popular “Jupiter Symphony” K. 551, and Mozart’s first symphony in E flat major K. 16 are on the program of this concert and show the musical development of the “child prodigy” into a genius, who, as he grew older, found his way to an ever more drastic and profound musical language. In between, the Kyrgyzstan-born soprano Katharina Konradi, one of the most exciting young voices causing a sensation in the music world, presents arias from Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and
Don Giovanni, making a convincing Mozart Week debut! A star is born! “Magic moments” Drehpunkt Kultur. Program Mozart: Symphony No. 1, “Giunse alfin il momento…” – “Deh vieni non tardar” from Le nozze di Figaro, “Ach ich fühl’s, es ist verschwunden” from Die Zauberflöte, “Batti, batti, o bel Masetto” from Don Giovanni, Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter”
La Bartoli – wherever she performs, the audience goes wild. Usually. Thanks to Covid-19, this time the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Salzburg is empty when Cecilia Bartoli, accompanied by one of the residence orchestras of the acclaimed Mozartwoche, the Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim sings “Ch’io mi scordi di te”. Of course always with her own technical perfection, heartfelt warmth and at the same time great gesture. No one masters playing on stage like she does, even if it is a stage in front of an empty hall. Further on the program: Mozart’s famous “Prague Symphony” as well as conductor Daniel Barenboim slipping into the role of the pianist playing the Piano Concerto in C minor K. 491. PROGRAM “Ch’io mi scordi di te?” – “Non temer, amato bene”, K. 505; “Vedrai, carino” from Don Giovanni; Piano Concerto No. 24, Symphony No. 38 “Prague Symphony”
Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, completed on September 29, 1789, is one of the most beautiful musical friendship pieces in music history. In his circle, it was called “Stadler Quintet”, because he wrote it for the Viennese clarinettist Anton Stadler. Mozart loved the clarinet for its timbre similar to the singing voice and no other 18th century clarinettist expressed this similarity more fully than Stadler. In this concert, the famous “Stadler Quintet” can be heard in an interpretation by members of the Wiener Philharmoniker, recorded in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Salzburg. Further on the program: the String Quartet in C major K. 157 and the Flute Quartet in D major K. 285. “Members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra provide a chamber music highlight” (Kronenzeitung)
This Mozartiade combines a selection of the most beautiful and touching songs composed by Mozart, including “Abendempfindung an Laura” or “Komm, lieber Mai, und mache” in the intimate atmosphere of the Mozarteum’s Great Hall, led by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožena who is always a welcome guest in Salzburg. Among the highlights of the concert is her interpretation of “Die Alte” K. 517, in whose composition all of Mozart’s musical wit becomes obvious. In addition, soprano Sylvia Schwartz and tenor Mauro Peter present their favorite Mozart songs, while Elena Bashkirova enhances the concert with her subtle, transparent accompaniment on the piano.
The Quatuor Van Kuijk was founded only 6 years ago and already they have won all the prizes that can be won: the Wigmore Hall International Chamber Music Competition, the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy, they are BBC New Generation Artists… just to name a few. The young Viennese pianist, Maximilian Kromer, joins this exciting ensemble – what emerges is a ravishingly youthful Mozart sound. “accomplished Mozart interpreters on stage” (APA) PROGRAMM Mozart: Divertimento K. 136; Divertimento, K. 137; Piano Quartet, K. 478
Bright as a bell is the attribute that one must associate with the voice of Regula Mühlemann. Her “Exsultate jubilate” scales the shimmering heights without any trace of effort, with a natural elegance that is second to none. After her stunning performance, the concert continues with Renaud Capuçon and Gérard Caussé performing Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante K. 364 under the intense baton of Lithuanian conductor Giedre Šlekyte on the podium of the Camerata Salzburg. PROGRAM Symphony No. 31, “Exsultate, jubilate” K. 165, “Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner” K. 383, Sinfonia concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra K. 364
A special Grafenegg soirée – the festival’s artistic director, pianist Rudolf Buchbinder meets various voice leaders of the Tonkünstler orchestra in the middle of the impressive park for a musical get together. Well-known works by Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Haydn and Beethoven can be heard at various locations on the festival site, for example the Wolkenturm, outside the castle, the auditorium, the garden pavilion and the park’s idyllic biotope.
Franz Lehár, the founder of the Silver Operetta Era and creator of unforgettable melodies, would have turned 150 in 2020. He has been a central artistic companion of the Wiener Symphoniker who initiated a fabulous concert with renowned artists including Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund and tenors Piotr Beczala and Michael Schade. Manfred Honeck conducts. The concert at the beautiful Theater an der Wien features Lehár’s most popular pieces from The Merry Widow, The Land Of Smiles, Zarewitsch, The Count Of Luxembourg and Giuditta including the hits Meine Lippen, Sie Küssen So Heiß and Dein Ist Mein Ganzes Herz.
The notion of passion, in music, initially referred to accounts of the suffering and death of Jesus. But would any form of art be conceivable without ardent passion and that kind of suffering which mobilizes creative forces as starting point for new artistic endeavours? Andris Nelsons presents a concert night which concentrates every conceivable passion: Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Trumpet Concerto, entitled “Nobody knows the trouble I see” – a protest against racism – and Mahler’s Second, ‘Resurrection’ Symphony. PROGRAM Zimmermann: Nobody knows de trouble I see – Concerto for trumpet and orchestra; Mahler: Symphony No.2 (Resurrection). A passionate rendition of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, “oscillating between dream and grotesque, between idyll and Hellmouth” (Wiener Zeitung).
Special experiences await you at this concert: “It was like a bath of ice, cocaine, and rainbows,” remarked the American writer Henry Miller of the effect made on him by Alexander Scriabin’s orgiastic orchestral fantasy Le Poème de l’extase. No wonder, when it comes to a composer regarded as a visionary who touched on the very limits of madness. Scriabin even saw himself as a kind of Prometheus and declared: “The world lives in my consciousness, as my act of creation.” Claude Debussy also experienced a mystical moment when he conceived his impressionist tone poem La Mer. With this music, he wished not to create a musical depiction of the roaring waves and sparkling water but rather to reflect the impression that the play of the waves awakened within him. Impressive in any case is how Lisa Batiashvili performs the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. According to the Guardian, she is a gifted storyteller, while the Wiener Standard praised her bright violin sound, comparing it to “a ray of light.” PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Polonaise from Eugene Onegin; Violin Concerto in D major op. 35; Debussy: La Mer; Skrjabin: Le Poème de l’extase op. 54
