Guest at Musica Bayreuth

In the performances conducted by Václav Luks, we explore the developments in music history that preceded Beethoven – at a time when the symphony was yet to become the dominant genre. The cultural region in which our orchestra’s history is rooted played a decisive role in all this: in 1773, the travelling scholar Charles Burney noted in his diary that »the Bohemians were the most musical of all nations« – and nicknamed the region the »Conservatory of Europe«. Jan Dismas Zelenka is regarded as one of the most important Bohemian composers of the Baroque period: he worked mainly for the Dresden court and was highly esteemed by Johann Sebastian Bach. But in 1723, during the coronation of Charles VI as King of Bohemia, he was in Prague, where he composed his expressive F major suite. »Full of fire, spirit and life«: That is what Mozart said of Josef Mysliveček. He worked primarily as an opera composer in Italy, where he was affectionately nicknamed »Il Boemo – the Bohemian« because of his difficult-to-pronounce name. He also left behind fascinating violin concertos, including the E major piece composed around 1770 with its inventive melodies. Mozart gained a great deal of inspiration from him, but was equally keen to explore the Baroque art of the fugue – and in 1788 wrote the then quite modern pair of movements, K. 546. As it was customary in the 18th century to include ballet scenes in operas, Mozart created wonderful instrumental music for his stage work »Idomeneo«, which premiered in Munich in 1781; it is full of movement – for it combines popular dances and is rich in variety.