Zubin Mehta conducts Mozart, Liszt and Prokofiev
Zubin Mehta made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1961: no other conductor has been associated with the orchestra for such a long period of time. In 2019, he was made an honorary member. Particular highlights of this fruitful collaboration include unforgettable renditions of Bruckner symphonies and the performance of Verdi’s Otello. Here, Mehta and the Philharmoniker take a musical journey from the 18th to the 20th century with works by Mozart, Liszt and Prokofiev.
Although Mozart wrote most of his symphonies in Salzburg, it is the later contributions to the genre from his Viennese period in particular that have become famous. It was precisely at the transition between these two stations in his life that he composed the Symphony K. 338 in 1780. Baroque festivity characterises the first movement, while the finale is considered a homage to the style of Haydn.
According to tradition, the folk hero Mazeppa was tied to the back of a horse as punishment for an inappropriate love affair, and was then driven into the steppes. Franz Liszt’s gripping symphonic poem depicts not only Mazeppa’s struggle for survival, but also his rescue in Ukraine.
To close the concert, he conducts excerpts from orchestral suites created by Sergei Prokofiev from his Romeo and Juliet ballet music. The selection begins with the enigmatic depiction of the family feud, includes the enchanting balcony scene, the elegant dance of the Antilles girls, and concludes with the highly dramatic sounds of the death of Romeo’s opponent Tybalt.
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