Haydn-Mozart 1

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony in F Major, K. Anh. 223/19a
Joseph Haydn: Piano Concerto in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Divertimento in F Major, K. 138
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 96 (in D Major, “the Miracle”), Hob. I:96

Piotr Anderszewski (piano)
Conductor: Gábor Takács-Nagy

Last season’s Rising Stars series gave young conductors the chance to introduce themselves. This year however, the conducting of our popular Haydn – Mozart concerts returns the baton of Gábor Takács-Nagy. Why have we chosen these two composers? Let the conductor answer this question: “Their humour, their humanity, their naturalness, their originality, their depth and their honesty make them almost father and son in my eyes.”

Mozart could have been as young as 9 years old when he wrote his symphony in F Major, although we can’t be sure of his age as his father often presented him as younger than he was. Obviously, this is not the prodigy’s most mature and unique work, but it’s all the more mysterious as the unnumbered symphony remained undiscovered until 1980 and was presented only afterwards.

Among the piano concertos of Mozart’s good friend Haydn, the ever-popular D Major gives space for the most virtuosity; the final movement is engulfed in fiery Gypsy elements. All of this suits Piotr Anderszewski perfectly. The Polish pianist is a restless traveller, a real ‘punk’, with Hungarian roots and an intense, original and inspiring style. When he’s not playing the piano, he can be found drinking exotic teas and reading the works of his favourite author, Gombrowicz.

Mozart’s Divertimento in F Major is a delightfully lyrical piece seasoned with rapid passages. Its first movement reminds us of the warmth of Italian comic operas, before leading us into intimate dialogues between low and high voices. A witty, fluid Rondo brings the piece to a conclusion.

The concert’s final piece is a genuine miracle. According to a legend, a chandelier crashed into the auditorium during the première of Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, and the only reason nobody got hurt was that the audience had pressed close towards the orchestra to catch a glimpse of Haydn. This is why the symphony is nicknamed “the Miracle”. But while the latest research suggests that the accident actually happened during the première of Symphony No. 102, No. 96 is undisputedly one of the composer’s most mature London symphonies.