Camerata Salzburg, Francois Leleux

ABOUT THE CONCERT

Were Antonín Dvořák to have seen a concert programme with his own works alongside that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he probably would have smiled with satisfaction. Dvořák might have been the first to refer to the Viennese genius as the “little sun”; he admired Mozart’s music and occasionally made direct references to it – for example as spoken by the teacher Benda in the opera The Jacobin. The Czech composer might have been even more pleased to hear that the orchestra performing his works hails from Mozart’s birthplace, Salzburg. One of the world’s leading chamber ensembles, the Camerata Salzburg, has divided its programme equally between two composers who shared much in common despite living at different times. Mozart’s and Dvořák’s works are illuminated from within by a light that gently binds them together.

In the case of the Serenade in D Minor for winds, cello, and contrabass, Dvořák took direct inspiration from a composition by his colleague that he heard at Vienna’s Musikverein. The performance of Mozart’s Prague Symphony at the conclusion of the concert also carries associations on multiple levels between music and a geographical location. Selections from Dvořák’s Legends and Mozart’s Oboe Concerto in C Major will take the audience from the realm of the narrative ballad to the sonic enchantment of music by a 21-year-old Mozart, when he had just decided to leave Salzburg for good. The evening’s soloist is also the orchestra’s artistic director, the oboist François Leleux, one of the most acclaimed masters of his instrument.

PROGRAM

Antonín Dvořák
Serenade in D minor for Wind Instruments, Cello and Double Bass, Op. 44, B. 77

Antonín Dvořák
Legends, Op. 59, B. 122, selection - Nos. 10/8/4/1/3

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra in C major, K. 314

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504, ʻPragueʻ

PERFORMERS

CAMERATA SALZBURG

FRANÇOIS LELEUX