Mozart ♥ Prague Saturday, October 22 Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall, Sorrento Valley Monday, October 24 Sherwood Auditorium, La Jolla Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.; the Nova Experience begins at 6:00 p.m. Featured guest artist Ines Irawati La Clemenza di Tito Overture    W. A. Mozart Slavonic Dances, No. 2     Antonin Dvořák Piano Concerto No. 20     W. A. Mozart Symphony No. 38 (Prague)    W. A. Mozart   Mozart truly loved Prague, and not just because it is a terrific travel destination. The Bohemian concert-goers enthusiastically received Mozart’s Figaro when it was premiered in Prague in 1786. The reviewer for the Prague newspaper Oberpostamtzeitung wrote, "No piece (so everyone here asserts) has ever caused such a sensation as the Italian opera Die Hochzeit des Figaro, which has already been given several times here with unlimited applause.” In January of 1787 he was invited to Prague by the local orchestra to attend their production of Figaro. It was during this visit that he premiered his Prague Symphony. And Prague loved Mozart In October of that same year, Mozart returned to Prague, this time to showcase the world premiere of his now legendary Don Giovanni. This opera was again extremely well received, with the local paper reporting that “connoisseurs and musicians say that Prague has never heard the like” of music such as this before. Though Mozart was invited to stay and compose another opera, he was unable to stay because he had to return to Vienna to lobby for (and eventually receive) a coveted post in the court of Emperor Joseph II. Mozart would make one final journey to Prague in 1791 when he was commissioned to write La Clemenza di Tito for Leopold II’s coronation in Prague as Roman Emperor. During this decade in Bohemian history, Prague was a mecca for musical talent and appreciation. The Bohemians were under the control of Vienna, Austria. Under this regime, part of the state-mandated Roman Catholicism was required instruction in sacred music, so the general population was very musically educated. The local aristocracy, without the day to day workings of a capital city, had the time and inclination to foster local talent. These contributed to make for enthusiastic receptions, so it’s no wonder that Mozart was heard to exclaim that "Meine Prager verstehen mich" ("My Praguers understand me"). La Clemenza di Tito Overture This opera was commissioned for Leopold II’s coronation as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Bohemia. Leopold was rather progressive in his prior post as the Grand Duke of Tuscany: ending capital punishment, encouraging smallpox inoculation, rehabilitation of juveniles and the insane (as opposed to the inhumane incarceration that was the standard of the day). During his two-year reign as Emperor, however, he inherited a state in turmoil from his older brother, so he was forced to concentrate on keeping the peace until he died suddenly in 1792. The initial reception in Prague after the coronation was lukewarm, but this is most likely due to the fact that the ceremony itself was long and boring, nearly putting everyone to sleep! Mozart died later that year but La Clemenca di Tito entered the repertoire and was performed extensively throughout Europe for the next 30 years after his death. Slavonic Dances, No. 2 It’s impossible to put the two subjects of “music” and “Prague” together without thinking of composer Antonin Dvořák who was born in the Bohemian village of Nelahozeves near Prague and whose love for Czech folk music was reflected in so many of his compositions. Although he spent most of his life in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic), his work was highly respected by his peers throughout Europe during the Romantic era. It was 1873 and Dvořák was still a relatively unknown composer so he applied for the Austrian State Music Prize scholarship. It just so happened that Johannes Brahms was one of the members of the award committee and he became Dvořák’s champion. Using Brahms’ Hungarian Dances as a model, Dvořák used the characteristic rhythms of Slavic folk music and wrote the Slavonic Dances, 16 orchestra pieces. He subsequently traveled throughout Europe and the United States – even spending three years from 1892 to 1895 as the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. One of his best-known works is Symphony No. 9 (New World). Piano Concerto No. 20 This concerto was written in 1785 and first performed by Mozart himself at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna. Not exactly Vegas, the Mehlgrube Casino was actually a grandiose reception hall for aristocrats when it was built in 1726. In 1781 it was converted into a true concert hall and started its illustrious history of hosting performances (Beethoven conducted there for 15 years) and now lives on as the prestigious Ambassador Hotel. The first performance by Mozart was personally important because it was the first time that his father, Leopold Mozart, heard a concerto by his now mature composer son. Leopold told his daughter that he was so overcome “that tears came into my eyes from sheer delight.” Mozart wrote this concerto for Maria Theresia von Paradis, a composer, pianist, organist and singer who was twenty-five years old at the time. She had been blind since the age of three. While on tour in the summer of 1783, she stopped by the Mozart residence in Salzburg, Germany, which is when Mozart promised her this concerto. Paradis was a determined woman who let nothing stand in the way of her ambitions. She would go on to found a school of music in Vienna in 1808. The Prague Symphony Mozart’s 38th symphony has become an homage to the city that most enthusiastically received his music during his lifetime. When he visited with his wife in January of 1787 to attend Figaro and was then persuaded to conduct a performance of the opera, he felt like a rockstar, writing to his father: “the one subject of conversation here is--Figaro; nothing is played, sung or whistled but--Figaro; nobody goes to any opera but--Figaro; everlastingly Figaro!" He had composed the Prague Symphony the month before he ventured to the Bohemian land, with no idea that he would be received as such a celebrity. After conducting the premiere of this symphony, he was obliged by the audience to improvise on piano for nearly an hour, able to “count this day as one of the happiest of my life.” Ines Irawati "…one of the most vital, imaginative, artistic young people on the scene" – Cleveland Plain Dealer Known for her expressivity and virtuosity, Ines Irawati is in demand both as a solo recitalist and a collaborative pianist. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, she began piano and composition instruction at age six at the Yamaha Music School in Indonesia. She made her official debut at the age of 12, playing the third Beethoven Piano Concerto and Chopin's first concerto with the Indonesian Youth Symphony. At the age of 15, she was invited to the International UNICEF Benefit in Japan, where she performed her first concerto with the Tokyo Symphony.  She was subsequently accepted under full scholarship to the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music and continued her studies there as an undergraduate and receiving a Master’s of Music from Yale. She and her husband reside in San Diego.