About this Program

Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart] is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name; he has taste, and, furthermore, the most profound knowledge of composition.—Joseph Haydn to Leopold Mozart in 1785

This program celebrates Mozart’s astonishing spiritual range from the unbridled joy and Italianate lyricism of the string serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik to the consummate lyricism and grace of Laudate Dominum’s solo soprano (Mozart’s favorite voice to write for); from the inimitable way he could say goodbye as in Così fan tutte’s famous Terzetto Soave sia il vento (conjuring in sound the warmest hug, the most profound look in the eye) to the Requiem’s dramatic consideration of mortal life’s end.

Early in 1791, Mozart was approached with a mysterious and anonymous commission to compose music for a requiem. Though his health was failing, he took on the commission at full force, eventually becoming haunted that the work was for his own death. Mozart had not yet completed Requiem by the time of his death in December 1791, but his pupil, Süssmayr, finished the work with a convincing 18th-century sensibility. This is the version which has been performed thousands of times ever since, including at Chopin’s funeral in 1849.

PROGRAM: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, Laudate Dominum, K. 339, Soave sia il vento (from Così fan tutte, K. 588), Requiem, K. 626

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