In the year leading up to his death in 1791, Mozart was a busy man. By July, when Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) was well underway, he'd accepted a noble commission from the Estates of Bohemia, who asked him to write an opera seria for the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia. Mozart set Caterino Mazzolà 's adaptation of Metastasio's La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus) and it was well received when it had its debut during the celebrations in September 1791. Today, we hear the overture of this piece, and one can’t help but note that the themes of intrigue and danger in Titus’ story are eerily prescient of Mozart’s much mythologised demise just a few months later.
We also hear one of Mozart’s last symphonies, No. 40, composed in summer 1788 when Mozart’s productivity seemed to know no bounds. Of the works he finished that summer, No.40 is seen as Mozart’s most original, breaking inspirational new ground even by his standards.
Before our second helping of Mozart though, something from ‘the father of symphony.’ Haydn’s balanced and elegant Symphony No. 101, or ‘Clock Symphony’ as it is affectionately known, gets its nickname from the pacey, rhythmic second movement, and the almost hypnotic tick-tock idea it introduces. Once you pick up on it, try tuning out!
Also in the programme: Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Scottish Symphony Orchestra, more Baroque vocal music from Capella Marianna in Prague and a highlight from last year’s London International Festival of Early Music.
