Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in his works

Kirill Petrenko began his first concert as chief conductor designate of the Berliner Philharmoniker with Mozart’s Haffner Symphony. As he explained in an interview, his stylistic ideal for Mozart is to achieve beauty of sound without losing “the sharpness of expression”.

This playlist, which offers a cross-section of the Austrian composer’s multifaceted oeuvre, shows how different interpretations can sound in this context. The Berliner Philharmoniker’s guest artists here include Daniel Barenboim, who has played Mozart’s piano concertos with the orchestra on many occasions since 1968, and Menahem Pressler, whose Philharmoniker debut at the age of 90 was acclaimed by the classical world in 2014.

The orchestra’s performances with Frank Peter Zimmermann have also been highlights for many years. Especially at the beginning of the collaboration – as in the 1993 Europakonzert documented here – the violinist has enchanted audiences many times with his Mozart playing. The warm and soft tone of the Philharmoniker’s principal clarinettist Wenzel Fuchs can be enjoyed in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, and the lively Jupiter Symphony can be heard under the baton of Simon Rattle.

A Mozart selection without vocal music is practically unthinkable. The Mozart specialist Christine Schäfer is featured in our selection with the cantata “Exsultate, jubilate”, and Julia Lezhneva performs the scene “Chʼio mi scordi di te” together with Adam Fischer. In this little-known gem, two of Mozart’s favourite instruments meet in the solo parts: the human voice and the piano.