Mozart, Salieri and Beethoven in Vienna
Synopsis
Oh, to have been in Vienna on today\u2019s date in 1785! Wolfgang Mozart had just finished a new piano concerto a week earlier and quite likely performed it himself for the first time as an intermission feature at a performance of the oratorio Ester, by Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, conducted by Antonio Salieri.
Now wouldn\u2019t that have made for a good scene in the movie Amadeus?
Fast forward 11 years for another memorable concert at the Theater an der Wien, when on today\u2019s date in 1806, it was Beethoven\u2019s turn to premiere one of his new concertos in Emanuel Schikaneder\u2019s Viennese theater. Alongside works of Mozart, M\xe9hul, Cherubini and Handel, Beethoven\u2019s Violin Concerto was introduced to the world, with Franz Clement as the soloist.
Beethoven\u2019s friend Czerny recalled that Clement\u2019s performance was greeted with \u201cnoisy bravos.\u201d
But a contemporary Viennese music critic wrote: \u201cWhile there are beautiful things in the concerto \u2026 the endless repetition of some commonplace passages could prove fatiguing.\u201d The reviewer\u2019s final assessment? \u201cIf Beethoven pursues his present path, it will go ill with him and the public alike.\u201d
Music Played in Today's Program
Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) Piano Concerto No. 22; Mitsuko Uchida, piano; English Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Tate, cond. Philips 420 187
Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) Magic Flute Overture; Zurich Opera House Orchestra; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond. Teldec 95523
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Violin Concerto; Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; New York Philharmonic; Kurt Masur, cond. DG 471 349