MOZART & SCHUMANN MOZART & SCHUMANN
KIDS come free concert
OctOBer 6 , 2024 at 4 pm BeethOVen and GuilMant
Symphony No . 3 , “ Eroica ” Organ Sonata , No . 1
St . Joseph Parish 100 Church Lane | Cockeysville
OctOBer 27 , 2024 at 4 pm alBinOni and Bach
Oboe Concerto Orchestral Suite No . 4 Followed by the Octoberfest party !
MSB Center for the Arts 3400 Norman Avenue | Baltimore
nOVeMBer 3 , 2024 at 4 pm elGar , teleMann , and Bach
Nimrod Variation , Trumpet Concerto , and Brandenburg Concerto No . 5
First English Lutheran Church 3807 N . Charles Street | Baltimore
purchase tickets at bachinbaltimore . org Group Discount 8 +, call 410-941-9262
Get 10 % discount with code : BSO10
Bach in Baltimore is supported in part by grants from the Maryland State Arts Council , William G . Baker , Jr . Memorial Fund , Harford County Cultural Arts Board , Howard County Arts Council , Howard County , Paul M . Angell Family Foundation , Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts , Citizens of Baltimore County , Peggy & Yale Gordon Trust , Lois & Philip Macht Family Philanthropic Fund , Dr . Frank C . Marino Foundation , Ensign C . Markland Kelly , Jr . Memorial Foundation , BCF Mitzvah Fund , the Wolman Family Foundation , and the T . Rowe Price Foundation .
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Born January 27 , 1756 in Salzburg , Austria ; Died December 5 , 1791 in Vienna , Austria
CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS IN F MAJOR , K . 242 [ 1776 ]
Letters from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his father during his Salzburg years show a young composer disquieted by his growing fame and , perhaps unsurprising given his infamously chronic financial woes , dissatisfied with a meager yearly salary : a mere 150 florins in the employ of the city ’ s ruler , Prince- Archbishop Hieronymous Colleredo .
To make matters worse , the closure of the Salzburg court theater in 1775 severely hampered opportunities for local performance of Mozart ’ s music , particularly his operas , and subsequent attempts to secure a raise resulted only in handwringing and half promises on behalf of his primary employer . This prompted Mozart to explore potential professional postings elsewhere , and he turned also to the network of wealthy Salzburg admirers whose patronage could supplement any lack of income ( or excess of spending !). Mozart was not entirely satisfied by his treatment by the city ’ s elite —“ Naturally they took an interest — but too much !,” he wrote in 1777 — but the arrangement nonetheless spurred a relatively productive period of creative output .
1776 witnessed Mozart ’ s renewed fascination with the medium of the piano concerto , producing in the span of only a few months K . 238 and K . 246 , as well as the Concerto for Three Pianos , K . 242 , written as a birthday gift for the Countess Maria Antonia Lodron to be played with her two daughters . Judging by the solo keyboard parts , their talents were not entirely equal : the two parts written for Countess Lodron and her elder daughter , Aloisia , require considerable skill , whereas the part written for the younger daughter , Giuseppa , proves more rudimentary .
Mozart himself performed the concerto during one of his final Salzburg performances in 1780 , by which time it had been re-worked into this Concerto for Two Pianos , placing greater demands on the solo performers and bringing the piece to its full maturity .
Throughout the concerto , Mozart achieves a remarkable transparency of texture through which both piano lines effortlessly emerge — not a small feat considering the challenges posed by two soloists playing instruments of like timbre . An endearing sense of dialogue , even friendship , pervades the Allegro as each pianist takes turns elaborating upon themes while the other accompanies , completing one and other ’ s thoughts and converging in moments of earnest agreement . The unhurried and introspective Adagio sees the two parts even more intertwined , prefacing a tongue-in-cheek Rondo replete with musical jokes and moments of sudden intensity .
Instrumentation : Two oboes , bassoon , two horns , and strings , in addition to two solo pianos .
Robert Schumann
Born June 8 , 1810 in Zwickau , Germany ; Died July 29 , 1856 in Endenich , Germany
SYMPHONY NO . 4 IN D MINOR , OP . 120 [ 1841 , REV . 1851 ]
For all his many early successes , Robert Schumann arrived late to the realm of symphonic music . Initial attempts at composing a first symphony in 1832 – 33 ended prematurely following a failed premiere of its first movement , although this may have owed more to a mediocre conductor than the work itself . For the next seven years , Schumann dedicated himself only to piano pieces and songs into which he could pour his immense sensitivity and strong poetic bent , among them such beloved works as Carnaval , Phanstasiestücke , Kreisleriana , and Dichterliebe .
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