Concert program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 1 in D major "Titan"


With his 1st Symphony, Gustav Mahler set out on the path of a symphonic œuvre that is unparalleled in today's repertoire. Although the links to the classical-romantic tradition are still clearly perceptible here, the typical characteristics of Mahler's style can already be found: the layering of motifs, the grotesque scherzo, also described as ironic, the finality leading to an apotheosis at the end. The fact that the 1st Symphony was at times subtitled "Titan" testifies to the new dimensions into which Mahler wanted to take the genre. Nevertheless, this fact should not obscure another peculiarity of Mahler's compositional output: Like many other large-scale works by Mahler, the 1st Symphony also uses folk tunes that seem almost modest in comparison to its dimensions. Here it is the "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen", which the composer had already worked out as a song cycle. After all, the great always grows out of the simple, simply performed melody as the nucleus of any architecture.

Just as a new style begins to take shape in Mahler's 1st Symphony, Mozart's 27th Piano Concerto represents the mature conclusion of a further development of this genre. Mozart returns to chamber music instrumentation and aims less for virtuosity than for a rich and boldly modulating treatment of the themes. Mozart's last piano concerto will be performed by the Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi, who lives in Berlin and has already performed internationally with many renowned orchestras. On the podium you will experience the young Italian star conductor Lorenzo Viotti.