European Mozart Ways visit the Mozart Week 2025

Opening concert 23.01.2025

Destination Mozart is the general theme of Mozart Week 2025 and the opening concert not only offered a musical journey of discovery through different eras and works, but also a deeper reflection on the cultural heritage of Mozart and his contemporaries.

As is tradition, Roberto González-Monjas conducted the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg at the opening. The evening in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation began with the overture from Les Danaïdes by Antonio Salieri, linking the 2025 festival directly to the 2024 festival theme, Mozart & Salieri.

A special highlight was the performance of Joseph Haydn's cantata Arianna a Naxos Hob. XXVIb:2. The American soprano Lauren Snouffer impressed with a passionate yet subtle interpretation of the tragic story of the abandoned Ariadne. Her singing was remarkably expressive and was atmospherically supported by the precise accompaniment of the orchestra.

Christoph Willibald Gluck's ballet “Don Juan ou Le Festin de pierre” set another exciting accent. The Mozarteum Orchestra brilliantly brought the complex musical layers to life, which reinforced the theme of the piece. Between the individual pieces of music, Rolando Villázon recited connecting words about the content of the ballet.

W. A. Mozart, the namesake of the annual festival, was of course not to be missed. The Piano Concerto in D minor K. 466 shone with a profound interpretation by the Venezuelan pianist and composer Gabriela Montero, who immersed the audience in an intimate reflection on the music. Gabriela Montero demonstrated her high art of improvisation in an additional piece by improvising freely on the motif of “Voi che sapete”, almost in the manner of a Bach fugue.

The concert was rounded off with Mozart's Scena “Ch'io mi scordi di te?” KV 505, which once again showcased the brilliant soprano voice of Lauren Snouffer. She presented the work with a clarity and delicacy that perfectly reflected the mental anguish of the character she sang.

Rolando Villazón, the charismatic tenor, moderated the program with wit and knowledge and gave interesting insights into the connections between the works and the composers.

Fotos: copyright European Mozart Ways