大象传媒

Donald Macleod asks why Mozart鈥檚 prolific working life underwent such a significant gear change between 1786 and 1787?

Five years before Mozart鈥檚 premature death aged 35, the composer felt at the top of his game. He was performing regularly in Vienna and his music was beloved throughout the city. However, the Austro-Turkish War between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire would soon have a negative impact on Mozart鈥檚 prospects, along with changing musical taste in the Austrian capital. The nobility had more important things to do than hold concerts and commission new music. Money was in shorter supply. As a composer for hire, Mozart had to change tack and write chamber music for publication and for performance in middle class homes, rather than concertos for the nobility.

In this episode Donald Macleod explores why Mozart鈥檚 extraordinarily prolific working life underwent such a significant gear change between 1786 and 1787. From being beloved throughout Vienna, a string of great works flowing from his pen, Mozart now found himself searching for any paid work, trying to find new students to teach, even offering the furniture in his house as collateral for a loan. This period marked the culmination of the most productive in Mozart鈥檚 life. The composition process of The Marriage of Figaro had been challenging, but it unleashed a flood of creativity that found its expression in the non-operatic works Mozart wrote at this time, now acknowledged as unique masterpieces. But a string of events would transform Mozart鈥檚 prospects for the worse. And he could have had no idea what lay around the corner.

Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K. 495
I. Allegro maestoso
Dennis Brain, horn
Philharmonia Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, conductor

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
I. Allegro
Alfred Brendel, piano
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Charles Mackerras, conductor

Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in F major, K. 497
I. Adagio - Allegro di molto
George Malcolm, piano
Andr谩s Schiff, piano

Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504 鈥淧rague鈥�
I. Adagio 鈥� Allegro
Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood, conductor