Orange 5: Viennese Classics

Programme: 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Overture to the opera The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 104 in D major, Hob. I:104
 

This concert programme provides an opportunity to hear the three giants of Viennese classicism. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn had a deep respect for each other and cultivated a friendly relationship. Mozart wrote six string quartets dedicated to his older colleague, in which “Papa” Haydn recognised a genuine master in the young composer.

“Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name”, were Haydn’s well-known words to Wolfgang’s father Leopold in 1785. One year later, in collaboration with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart enjoyed remarkable success with the opera The Marriage of Figaro, prompting an ovation in Vienna in May and thrilling the audience in Prague in December. Ludwig van Beethoven, who came to Vienna in 1792 to deepen his compositional knowledge with Haydn, did not establish such a good relationship with his mentor. Haydn was very busy with his compositions and his connections with London, while Beethoven’s musical language was already blazing new and more daring musical paths.

In 1795, Haydn consummated his fame in England with a concert of his works in London, which included his last Symphony No. 104, the crowning jewel of his twelve London Symphonies. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 will be performed in his own unique style by internationally acclaimed Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say, a renowned interpreter of Beethoven’s works. Fazil has collaborated on many occasions with internationally active conductor and pianist Ibrahim Yazici, who will stand before the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time. Yazici began his conducting career in 1995 at the opera house in Ankara, and since 2014 has been the musical director of the Olten Philharmonic of Izmir.