Thu, 28. 3. 2019, 7.00 p.m.

A5 MOZART AND BEETHOVEN

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  | 

Our fifth Subscription Series A concert features two celebrated works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven - both belonging to the First Viennese School. The performance begins with the Mozart symphony, his last, which many consider to be the best composition in the Classicist musical genre. The monumental symphony in C major, no. 41, known as the Jupiter, is also Mozart's longest. It acquired the epithet Jupiter not from the composer, but reputedly from the London violinist, conductor and impresario Johann Peter Salomon. The four-movement work, lasting about 30 minutes and jubilant in nature, is proof of Mozart's mastery and perfect grasp of complex counterpoint. Indeed, the compositional principles of fugue and sonata form are interwoven almost throughout the work, and the symphony's synthesis of Baroque and Classicism marks a kind of bridging point between the old and the new musical styles.

This is followed by the Orchestra performing Beethoven's glorious 'Eroica' symphony written, in the composer's own words, 'in honour of a great man'. Beethoven, as we know, wrote the work for the then consul Napoleon Bonaparte. However after Napoleon's declaration as emperor by the French and his subsequent conquest of Europe, an angry Beethoven deleted the dedication and gave the work the universal dedication "in memory of a hero". The spirit of the French general and the billowing torch of the Bastille, however, still seem to permeate the entire symphony. Mention must also be made of an interesting survey in 2016 among over 150 of the world's leading conductors who overwhelmingly ranked Beethoven's 'Eroica' symphony as the all-time best.

At the podium in tonight's performance is the outstanding Czech conductor Tomáš Hanus, currently Director of the Welsh National Opera.