Mozart had taken his bride Constanze to visit with his father and sister in Salzburg. On the way back to Vienna, they passed through Linz, where lived a Count Thun, who asked the young couple to his palace and entertained them royally. He also asked Mozart to write a new symphony for a private concert he had planned for the fifth day after their arrival. On 31 October 1783 Mozart wrote to his father: “On Thursday, November 4th, I am going to give a concert in the theater, and since I haven’t a single symphony with me, I am up to my ears writing away at a new one which must be finished by then.” In spite of the lively and sociable atmosphere in which it was written, the “Linz” Symphony is more than merely playful or sentimental society music of the kind that had been traditional in symphonies up to then. New emotions of manly fire and thoughtful melancholy break through the polite restraints. The “Linz” Symphony is the earliest in which Mozart introduces his first movement with a slow passage of the kind Haydn had used for many years. This live recording was made at the “Grosser Musikvereinssaal” in Vienna in 1975. Karl Böhm led the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mozart, Serenata Notturna in D major, K. 239
Karl Böhm leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this little work written by Mozart in Salzburg in January 1776. What sets this work apart from other serenades is its scoring for two small orchestras, which produces a deliberate echo effect. One can almost imagine the courtly guests bantering amidst the two groups of players at the opposite ends of a grand salon. Although the work begins with a march, called “Marcia maestoso,” it soon gives up all martial pretenses for lightness and grace. The final Rondo is particularly spirited and frisky, wth episodes of a nature that must have made more than one guest stop in mid conversation! 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.
Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525
It is hard to believe that Mozart’s serenade “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” one of his most popular works, is still shrouded in mystery: although it was completed on 10 August 1787, we know neither for what occasion nor for whom it was written. Furthermore, the absence of wind instruments in a serenade is unusual since such works were often given outdoors, where the sound of wind instruments carried better. Finally, the work originally had a second Minuet and Trio, which was torn out of the autographic score – all enigmas that continue to ocupy musiciologists while we bask in the cloudless bliss of this work. Its forceful fanfare opening, lyrical Romanze, stately Minuet set against a bewitching cantilena in the Trio, and fleet-footed finale – all these movements fuse together into one of Mozart’s lightest and friendliest scores. Karl Böhm conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Karl Böhm (1894-1981) 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.
Mozart, Menuett, K. 409
Karl Böhm heads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this performance of the Minuet K. 409, written in Vienna towards 1782. It was presumably composed for a performance of the Symphony in C major K. 338 in Vienna’s Augarten in May 1782. Let us recall that the autograph of the Symphony K. 338, written in Salzburg, contained only the beginning of a Minuet, which was then crossed out. The more progressive Viennese public preferred four-movement works, which might explain the origin of this Minuet. It is one of Mozart’s most imaginative and beguiling minuets. 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.
Haydn, Symphony No.97 in C major
Haydn composed this lesser-known but nevertheless highly inventive and charming work during his first stay in London in 1791-92. Its inner symmetry and Mozartian delicacy easily place it on a par with Haydn’s more famous compositions. The prominence accorded to the two violin parts (a tribute to the violinist Salomon) in the slow movement lends the latter an almost concertante air. With its toe-tapping brightness, the minuet is especially attractive; the finale also typifies the sense of gaiety and sheer high spirits found in all of Haydn’s music. Leonard Bernstein began conducting Haydn’s orchestral works when he was still Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, his interpretations of the symphonies have consistently met with unreserved critical acclaim. He, of all conductors, possessed precisely the qualities which Haydn’s music requires: grace, charm and a generous measure of wit. This production with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded in 1984.
Schubert, Symphony No.6 in C major, D.589
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday. Schubert wrote this work at the age of 21 for a small orchestra that had grown out of a string quartet that used to get together in Schubert’s apartment. It was not given its first public performance until December 1828, the month after Schubert’s death. Though the Sixth sometimes evokes Beethoven’s First Symphony, it also recalls the spirit of Haydn and even of Rossini, who was then very popular in Vienna.
Schubert, Symphony No.8 in B minor “Unfinished”, D. 759
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday. Schubert began working on his Symphony No. 8 in October 1822, and finished the first two movements as well as the first measures of the Scherzo. But then he laid the work aside. It will never be known why he did not continue…¿Even as a torso, this mighty work continues to fascinate musicians and audiences alike with its stately, almost mysterious grandeur, romantic appeal and typically Viennese charm.
Rossini, Overture to “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia”
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.
Rossini, Overture to “L’Italiana in Algeri”
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.
Rossini, Overture to “La Scala Di Seta”
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.