Programm der Mozartwoche 2014 - Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg

In our very first Mozart week, Marc Min kows ki
and I have done our best to bring out the
whole artistic range associated with the phe -
no menon that is Mozart – both in the concert
programmes and in the different approaches
to interpretation. his work not only enables,
but demands a “both ... and” attitude – an idea
already propounded by richard Strauss. the
unique sound of the Vienna Philharmonic is
just as indispensable to the performance of
works by Mozart and his contemporaries as
the keen search for the original sound, undertaken
by ensembles such as Les Musiciens du
Louvre Grenoble or the Freiburg baroque orchestra.
In three concerts in the Large Festival
hall, the Vienna Philharmonic once again
demonstrate their versatility under very different
conductors – Paavo Järvi, Marc Min -
kowski and Daniel barenboim – and in pro -
grammes just as diverse.
this year, Mozart will be juxtaposed with
christoph willibald Gluck, richard Strauss,
carl Philipp emanuel bach, Muzio clementi
and arvo Pärt.
Gluck (who would have celebrated his 300th
birthday in 2014) was an influential figure
not only for Mozart, but for all the composers
of his age. we will stage his opera Orfeo ed
Euridice as a true “azione teatrale per musi -
ca”: intimate yet powerful. his work is also
represented in the concerts: a whole programme
of Gluck and Mozart with Sonya
Yon cheva, rolando Villazón and Marc Min -
kowski, and excerpts from La clemenza di
Tito in the settings by both Gluck and Mozart,
with Marianne crebassa, Louis Langrée and
the Salzburg camerata.
It is very important to us that the Mozart week
is not misunderstood as being set like a fine
gemstone; our intention is not to present
Mozart as a solitaire, but to show his work in
relation to our own time. the festival is also
intended function as a “music laboratory” in
which our perception of the art can be developed
and deepened, since past and present
reflect each other.
thus we juxtapose Mozart with arvo Pärt,
whose peculiarly austere yet immensely attractive
music has long made him one of the
most popular present-day composers. at first
glance, this may seem surprising, but Pärt’s
music, which derives its power mostly from
its great simplicity, has a great affinity with
that of Mozart. we are delighted that the programme
includes a world première of a work
by Pärt, commissioned by the Mozarteum
Foundation: the orchestral version of his
Littlemore Tractus. the composer himself is
looking forward to hearing it performed by
the Vienna Philharmonic.
richard Strauss, a great admirer of Mozart, is
represented with charming early pieces and
some of his splendid late works, which fit lo -
gic ally and associatively into the context of
the Mozart week. they include the Metamor-
phoses, the Four Last Songs, Stimmungsbilder
and the oboe concerto.
Mozart’s musical environment will also be
exam ined once again, with examples from
mutually influential contemporaries. a particularly
rewarding rarity is the oratorio The
Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus by carl
Philipp emanuel bach, in Mozart’s sensitive
1788 arrangement for performance in Vienna.
the richly expressive music of cPe bach,
who worked primarily in berlin and hamburg,
and whose music Mozart admired, can also
be heard in the Museum concerts.
audiences will have the opportunity of hearing
compositions from particular phases of Mozart’s
life or specific genres performed in the space
of a few days, thus offering an overall impression
of the works. andrás Schiff will play all the
piano works composed in 1784. the programme
also includes the complete piano so -
na tas (following the “both ... and” principle,
some performed on a modern grand piano,
some on the hammerklavier) as well as the
far too rarely heard string quintets.
Muzio clementi was a distinguished contemporary
of Mozart’s; Ivor bolton will put four
of his major symphonies back in the picture,
also conducting Mozart arias sung by christi -
ane Karg, bearer of the Lilli Lehmann Medal.
the film series again illustrates the programme
from its own perspective. Finally, we once
more proudly present the Mozart children’s
orchestra, which will of course contribute to
the concluding events of the 2014 Mozart
week; could there be any better way to demonstrate
true verve and enthusiasm for musicmaking?
we look forward to welcoming you.
Matthias Schulz
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