MOZART’S PRAGUE
Image Credit: © Helen White
Mozart’s life was tragically cut short in 1791 at the tender age of just 35. In stark contrast, this was the same year that Haydn traveled to London, where he was viewed as a celebrity with his performances drawing huge crowds, and rose to the peak of his fame. Meanwhile, Mozart died in relative poverty in Vienna, a poignant juxtaposition of the lives of the two men. One wonders what Mozart would have achieved had he lived as long as Haydn.
This final program for 2021 brings together one of Mozart’s most loved late piano concertos No. 21, made famous by the film Elvira Madigan, with his beautiful Prague Symphony and a powerful C minor symphony of Haydn.
The Prague Symphony, composed in late 1785, was premiered in Prague on Mozart's first visit, from which came the work's nickname.
The program opens with Haydn’s powerful C minor Symphony No. 95 completed in 1791, the tragic year of Mozart's death and during Haydn's first visit to London.
During that trip Haydn composed his set of twelve famous London Symphonies, of which this is the fourth.
It is the only symphony of the set that the composer wrote in a minor key and without a slow introduction. The dramatic opening of the work in the powerful key of C minor sets the tone for a dramatic program.
PERFORMANCES & BOOKINGS:
Select a location & performance to book:
+ Bathurst 14 December 7.30 pm
* Tuesday 14 December, 7.30pm, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre
+ Sydney 18 December 7 pm
* Saturday 18 December, 7pm, City Recital Hall
+ Live Stream 18 December 7 pm
PROGRAM
HAYDN
Symphony No. 95 in C minor
MOZART
Keyboard Concerto No. 21 in
C major K. 467 Elvira Madigan
MOZART
Symphony No. 38 in D Major
K. 504 The Prague