Conductor and pianist Stefan Veselka, long based in Norway, brings the orchestra Czech Virtuosi to the festival with a programme that explores the rich musical legacy of the Bach family alongside the early works of Mozart. The evening opens with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Symphony in E-flat major, full of unexpected affects and expressive contrasts characteristic of the empfindsamer Stil. It is followed by Johann Sebastian Bach’s lyrical Keyboard Concerto in A major, BWV 1055, in which Veselka combines the roles of soloist and conductor. The dramatic Symphony in G minor by Johann Christian Bach – a composer who significantly influenced the young Mozart – provides an ideal contrast to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, a work radiant and chamber-like in its clarity. The concert concludes with the elegant Symphony No. 29 in A major, one of the most beautiful early orchestral works of Mozart’s oeuvre. The programme offers a cross-section of the Bach family’s musical heritage and its resonances in Mozart’s music.
Programme:
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788): Symphony in E-flat major, Wq179
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Piano Concerto no. 4 in A major, BWV 1055
Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782): Symphony no. 6 in G minor, op. 6 W.C12
— intermission —
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Piano Concerto no. 12 in A major, K. 414
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony no. 29 in A major, K. 201