WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Serenade No . 10 , “ Gran Partita ,” III . Adagio
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1756 in Salzburg , Austria ; died 1791 in Vienna , Austria
• Mozart was considered a child prodigy , with his first piece published at age six and first opera written by age 12 .
• After being employed by wealthy patrons for a time , Mozart bucked the norm of holding steady employment under patronage and created a career as a freelance musician . As a result ( and in part due to regular gambling ), Mozart struggled financially throughout his life .
• The composer ’ s output was tremendous , with over 600 works in his lifetime and mastering multiple genres including symphonic music , solo repertoire , and opera . Many of these works remain hugely popular , such as The Marriage of Figaro , Eine kleine Nachtmusik , and The Magic Flute . He remains one of the most recognizable household names in Western classical music to this day .
• Mozart passed away at only 35 years old . Shortly before his death , the composer was commissioned to write a Requiem by an anonymous patron . The unusual commission haunted Mozart who began to see the work as a harbinger of his own death . Mozart passed away unexpectedly before finishing the work .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1782
MUSIC Haydn ’ s Symphony No . 73
FILM Angelica Kauffman ’ s The Allegory of poetry and music
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Mozart wrote this work in 1781 or 1782 . The work , Serenade No . 10 , commonly uses the subtitle “ Gran Partita .” Funny enough , this title is a misspelling and not written in Mozart ’ s hand .
• The third movement Adagio , performed on this program , employs a syncopated pulse throughout the sonorous , almost operatic melody .
HISTORY The American Revolutionary War
14 BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA