BERGMANN CONDUCTS MOZART AND BRUCKNER
Maximilian Franz
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
By Paula Maust
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Born January 27 , 1756 in Salzburg , Austria Died December 5 , 1791 in Vienna , Austria
CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS [ 1779 ]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sister Maria Anna ( nicknamed Nannerl ) toured Europe as children , delighting audiences with their prodigious keyboard skills . Although their parents eventually stifled Maria Anna ’ s public performance career and insisted she only engage in domestic music making , she continued to practice three hours a day . Maria Anna dazzled audiences with her at-home performances for decades and became a respected private teacher . Indeed , when Wolfgang wrote his Concerto for Two Pianos , it is quite likely that he had his sister ’ s tremendous pianistic abilities in mind . The
Concerto cannot be dated with certainty , but most scholars agree it was written in Salzburg in the late 1770s . While there are no recorded performances of Maria Anna playing the piece with her brother , Wolfgang did perform the Concerto with his student Josepha Auernhammer in Vienna in 1781 . This concert was part of Mozart ’ s endeavor to professionally establish himself in a new city , and his choice of this Concerto indicates the tremendous value he placed on the work .
Originally scored for oboes , bassoons , horns , and strings , a later spurious version of the Concerto for Two Pianos also included parts for timpani , trumpets , and clarinets . The first movement opens with a lengthy orchestral ritornello , which gradually builds in intensity . The pianists enter with a nuanced , polite dialog reminiscent of a conversation between friends over a cup of tea . As the musical excitement increases , the orchestra intermittently interrupts and finally joins the pianists . After a festive orchestral ritornello , the pianists move into a section full of the “ Sturm und Drang ” angst that is characteristic of music in this period . This section features rapid arpeggiations , scales , crashing chords , and hammering repeated notes in the strings . All tension is resolved by the end of the movement , which ends with an exuberant arpeggiation .
Throughout the second movement , Mozart repeatedly demonstrates that he was not only a masterful composer for the piano , but also for the winds . The oboes are featured heavily in this movement , often in exquisite duets with the pianos . While the first movement requires technical brilliance from the pianists , the second movement demands an intense sense of lyricism and careful attention to dissonance and phrasing . The pianists enter with delicate tremolos , creating a shimmering effect that Mozart returns to frequently across the movement . We return to flashes of excitement and florid passagework in the third movement , which is in rondo form . In a rondo , an opening section ( A ) is alternated with contrasting sections . In this movement , the A section is cheerful and forthright , and hints of the “ Sturm und Drang ” style permeate a number of the alternating sections . An extravagant cadenza provides the pianists with a final opportunity to display their prowess , before the A section is repeated one last time at the end of the Concerto .
Instrumentation Two oboes , two bassoons , two horns , two pianos .
Anton Bruckner
Born September 4 , 1824 in Ansfelden , Austria Died October 11 , 1896 in Vienna , Austria
SYMPHONY NO . 7 [ 1881 – 1883 ]
Austrian composer and organist Anton Bruckner received no formal composition training and did not begin writing music seriously until he was 37 years old . The son of a provincial school teacher , Bruckner studied the organ as a young boy , reportedly practicing 12 hours a day . After completing his teacher certification and teaching in completely unideal situations for several years , Bruckner began working as an organist . He would eventually become a teacher at the Vienna Conservatory , dazzle audiences with his organ improvisations , publish symphonies and sacred works , and receive the prestigious Order of Franz Joseph from
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