MOZART – BEETHOVEN / SYMPHONIC CONCERT

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven – two outstanding representatives of the classical style, and at the same time artists with completely different compositional languages. The juxtaposition of the arias and symphonies by the two composers gives an excellent opportunity to reflect on what features are common to a given era and how formal and harmonic patterns can lead to the formation of two completely different artistic approaches.

The first part of the concert opens with the sentimental aria Vado, ma dove? oh Dei! KV 583, which Mozart wrote in 1789 for the great singer Louise Villeneuve. The lyrical complaint of an enamored heart finds its perfect expression in the songful melody and the impeccably balanced orchestral part. The composer’s passion for the art of Italian opera manifests itself not only in the language of the text but, above all, in references to the captivating bel canto style. Mozart’s passion for opera permeates his works of all genres – including the purely instrumental ones, although this fascination is not yet present in his first symphony, written at the age of only eight. In the score, whose autograph is kept by the Jagiellonian Library, one can see the effects of diligent study of the compositions of his father and the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach.

A completely different mood accompanies Beethoven’s aria Ah! Perfido, completed by the composer in Prague in 1796. The libretto by Metastasio tells the story of Deidamia abandoned by Achilles. The wave of strong feelings – love and agitation – is reflected by music that is both emotional and full of contrasts. Just as in the text, where the pleading is intertwined with fury, so in the music, the energetic, fast passages sometimes give way to gentle fragments full of regret.

The program will be crowned with the famous Symphony No. 5 by the master from Bonn with the moving four-note “fate motif”. It is the building block of the entire first movement of the work and returns like an echo in the turbulent Scherzo and the triumphant finale Allegro. The rich emotionality leads the listener through successive extended parts of the great cycle written in the first years of the 19th century. It is still within the framework of the classical form, yet already heralds the turbulent century of romanticism, whose music would soon explode with a riot of colors and depth of emotions.

PROGRAM 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Concert aria Vado, ma dove? KV 583

Allegro molto – Andante – Presto

Ludwig van Beethoven

Concert aria Ah! Perfido op. 65

Symphony No. 5 in C minor op. 67
Allegro con brio – Andante con moto – Scherzo. Allegro – Finale. Allegro

PERFORMERS

OLGA PASIECZNIK SOPRANO

THE ORCHESTRA OF THE POLISH ROYAL OPERA

DAWID RUNTZ CONDUCTOR

Duration: approx. 1 h