Enigma
Program
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sinfonie Nr. 40 g-Moll KV 550
1788Requiem d-Moll KV 626
1791
Cast
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Christina Landshamer
soprano
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Lara Morger
mezzo-soprano
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Sebastian Kohlhepp
tenor
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Krešimir Stražanac
bass-baritone
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Amsterdam Baroque Choir
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Ton Koopmann
conductor
Dates
The genesis of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem is shrouded in all kinds of myths and mysteries. It seems sinister, after all, that the composer himself died surprisingly at the age of 35, torn from life as he was working on this mass for the dead, leaving it a fragment. Eventually, the truth was revealed: a wealthy impostor had had the temerity to order a masterwork from Mozart the superstar, planning to pass it off as his own. Sheer brazenness – yet also one of the greatest instances of luck in music history: without this trickery, the Mozart Requiem might not exist at all, that truly otherworldly stroke of genius which has consoled the world and made it a little better for centuries.
Ton Koopman, one of the grandmasters of historically informed performance practice, returns to the Gürzenich Orchestra, juxtaposing the Requiem with Mozart’s mature Symphony K. 550. The Amsterdam Baroque Choir and a select quartet of soloists open up the gates to heaven.
