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A rocky road to Paris

The Mozart family have barely started their epic European adventure, and already their plans are going awry. With Donald Macleod.

The Mozart family have barely started their European adventure, and already their plans are going awry. With Donald Macleod.

When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was just seven years old, he and his family set out on an epic journey. Their goal: to travel through Europe and become famous; bringing their awesomely talented children to concert halls, homes and royal palaces across Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland. At the start of their trip, young Wolfgang could already perform and improvise better than most adults. By the time they returned home, three and a half years later, he’d grown into a fully fledged composer of sonatas, symphonies and arias. This week, Donald Macleod accompanies the Mozart family on their musical marathon and invites us to follow their many scrapes and adventures.

Today, the Mozarts' plans to enthral wealthy royals in Mainz and Bonn are scuppered when they arrive to discover the princes are either absent or ill. Bad weather ruins a river voyage down the Rhine and they are kept waiting for six weeks by Prince Karl Alexander of Belgium. Young Wolfgang is homesick and the family coffers are emptying fast.

Symphony in C, K 208/102, 1. Molto allegro
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner

Allegro in C Major, K 6
Florian Birsak, clavichord

Piano Concerto No 17 in G major, K 453: II. Andante
Lang Lang, piano
Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Mass in C, K 317 'Coronation Mass': Credo & Agnus Dei
Barbara Bonney, soprano
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, contralto
Jamie MacDougall, tenor
Stephen Gadd, bass
The English Concert Choir
The English Concert, directed by Trevor Pinnock

Violin Sonata No 1 in C Major, K 6
Rachel Podger, baroque violin
Gary Cooper, fortepiano

59 minutes

Last on

Tue 2 Apr 2024 16:00

Music Played

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Symphony in C, K 208/102, (1st mvt, Molto allegro)

    Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner.
    • PHILIPS : 416-477.
    • PHILIPS.
    • 12.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Allegro in C Major, K6

    Performer: Florian Birsak.
    • DECCA.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Piano Concerto No 17 in G major, K 453: (2nd mvt, Andante)

    Performer: Lang Lang. Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic. Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
    • SONY CLASSICAL : 88843-0825222.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 5.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Mass in C, K 317 'Coronation Mass': Credo & Agnus Dei

    Orchestra: The English Concert. Director: Trevor Pinnock. Choir: English Concert Choir. Singer: Barbara Bonney. Singer: Catherine Wyn-Rogers. Singer: Jamie MacDougall. Singer: Stephen Gadd.
    • ARCHIV : 445-353-2.
    • ARCHIV.
    • 6.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Violin Sonata No 1 in C Major, K 6

    Performer: Rachel Podger. Performer: Gary Cooper.
    • Channel Classics: CCSSA21804.
    • Channel Classics.
    • 7.

Broadcast

  • Tue 2 Apr 2024 16:00

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