Mozart, Salieri, and Beethoven in Vienna Oh, to have been in Vienna on todays date in 1785! Wolfgang Mozart had just finished this new piano concerto a week earlier, and quite likely performed it as an intermission feature at a performance of the oratorio Ester by Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf. That performance was conducted by Antonio Salieri, and, although it is possible that Mozart conducted his Piano Concerto No. 22 in Eb from the keyboard, its also possible Salieri conducted both the Dittersdorf and the Mozart. Now wouldnt 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, a Viennese performing venue that Mozarts librettist for The Magic Flute, Emanuel Schikaneder, had opened a few years after Mozarts death. On todays date in 1806, it was Beethovens turn to premiere one of his new concertos in Schikaneders Viennese theater. Alongside works of Mozart, Méhul, Cherubini, and Handel, Beethovens Violin Concerto in D was introduced to the world, with Franz Clement as the soloist. Beethovens friend Czerny recalled that Clements performance was greeted with noisy bravos, but a contemporary Viennese music critic wrote, while there are beautiful things in the concerto, the sequence of events often seems incoherent; the endless repetition of some commonplace passages could prove fatiguing. The reviewers final assessment? If Beethoven pursues his present path, it will go ill with him and the public alike.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:48:19 +0000
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