A night of Mozart classics

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is recognized as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. With Haydn and Beethoven, he brought to its height the achievement of the Viennese Classical school. Unlike any other composer in musical history, he wrote in all the musical genres of his day and excelled in every one.

A poster for the concert on Dec. 14 that features Mozart classics. Photos courtesy of SZSO.

Conducted by Guido Johannes Rumstadt from Germany, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra (SZSO) will perform three Mozart pieces Saturday. Shen Lu, an associate piano professor of Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, will be the featured soloist.

Opening the concert will be the overture to Mozart's opera “Così fan tutte” (“Women Are Like That”), a lively and intricate musical piece that sets the tone for the opera to follow. The overture opens with a brief slow introduction leading into an effervescent presto. The comic opera, a perfectly balanced piece, captures the societal landscape of Vienna at the time of its composing.  

Guido Johannes Rumstadt from Germany.

Rumstadt, a symphonic, operatic, and choral conductor from Heidelberg, is a professor at the Music Conservatory in Nuremberg. Since 2014 he has been artistic director of one of Bavaria’s largest choral ensembles, the Hans Sachs Choir. He also regularly conducts oratorios, masses, and concert repertoire, working with Bavaria’s leading orchestras.

Pianist Shen Lu.

Next the orchestra will perform Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major,” his last piano concerto. Mozart performed the premiere himself at a concert in Vienna in March 1791, which was also his final public appearance as a pianist. The composer tragically died a few months later in December at only 35. Nonetheless, the concerto gives no indication of Mozart’s then financial troubles or impending fate; its formal balance and melodic beauty make it one of his most perfect masterpieces. Shen, winner of the 2014 Hilton Head Piano Competition, promises a mesmerizing interpretation of this romantic and elegant piece.

The second half of the concert will bring Mozart’s “Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major,” the least studied and performed of his three last symphonies, unlike the No. 40 with its tragic romanticism, or the 41st, whose magnificent heroics earned the C major its nickname, the Jupiter.

The first movement of this piece is a classical sonata, followed by the second featuring a collection of great melodies, then the third with its lively minuets based on Austrian folk music, and the spirited finale built entirely from one theme.

Time: 8 p.m., Dec. 14

Tickets: 50-880 yuan

Venue: Shenzhen Concert Hall, Futian District (深圳音乐厅)   

Metro: Line 3 or 4 to Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit D