Composer Of The Week

Donald Macleod explores Mozart’s prolific final years.Five years before Mozart’s 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’s 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.Music Featured: Horn Concerto No 4 in E flat major, K 495 (I. Allegro maestoso) Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor, K 491 (I. Allegro) Sonata for Piano 4 Hands in F major, K 497 (I. Adagio - Allegro di molto) Symphony No 38 in D major, K 504 “Prague” (I. Adagio – Allegro) Symphony No 39 in E flat majo