"Music and Knowledge: Kegelstatt"

Elisabeth Kropfitsch (violin) | Marie Isabel Kropfitsch (violin) | David Kropfitsch (violin) | Stefan Kropfitsch (cello) | Johannes Kropfitsch (piano)

On the first Mozart Academy evening this year, the Jess-Trio, assisted by the younger Kropfitsch generation, will play works by Mozart – piano quartets and the “Kegelstatt Trio” KV 498 in a special arrangement for violin, viola and piano. Mozart is said to have composed his twelve horn duos while playing skittles. It is possible that the trio in E flat major was also nicknamed on account of the intimacy of a friendly social gathering that it conveys. Professor Johannes Kropfitsch will explain the highlights of these compositions in an accompanying talk.

Operetta Goes Jazz
10 Piano Arrangements by 10 Jazz Composers

The most famous melodies from Franz Lehár’s operetta “The Merry Widow”
in jazz arrangements for solo piano

"Presenting young talent"

Young and highly talented concert prize winners of the Vienna competition “prima la musica” will demonstrate their skills. Moderated by Angelika Persterer-Ornig.

An intimate Masterpiece of the late Beethoven gives the opening to the concert, the Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major Op. 109, which features a free approach to the traditional Sonata Form. The stylistic counterpoint is provided by one of Messiaen’s mystical pieces from the suite “Twenty contemplations on the infant Jesus”, a jewel among the piano repertory. The premiere of “Prelude, Tango and Fugue” is also included, a composition by Uriel Pascucci which features an exciting exploration and blend of classical music and tango. It stands out the stunning suite “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky to conclude the concert. The program reveals an astonishing stylistic and emotional range contained in the interplay of the pieces, which will be performed by the pianist Uriel Pascucci. More Info: www.urielpascucci.com

"Music and Knowledge: "Prelude" to Mozart"

Yuko Batik (piano) | Roland Batik (piano)

Roland Batik is one of the most versatile Austrian musicians, whose musical language transcends traditional boundaries. He says of his compositions: “I seek to merge traditional classical formal elements with ideas inspired by jazz and world music.” He has made a highly successful recording of Mozart’s piano sonatas. On this evening Roland Batik and his long-standing duo partner Yuko Batik will play Mozart’s music as well as his own compositions, offering an experience that blurs the boundaries of and within music.

“Breeches Roles”

Ghazal Kazemi (mezzo-soprano) | Niels Muus (piano)

The attraction of the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s opera “Le Nozze di Figaro” is no doubt due to the compositional beauty and nuance that Mozart gave to the music. In his last opera “La Clemenza di Tito”, inspired by the murderous intrigue surrounding the Roman emperor Titus Vespasian, he also gives Sesto the most beautiful and sensitive arias. The young mezzo-soprano Ghazal Kazemi performs these classic breeches roles together with the pianist Niels Muus.

Tamás Varga (cello) | Sophie Druml (piano)

This concert evening focuses not only on the cello but also on compositions by contemporaries of great composers. Listening to works by Mozart’s contemporary Jean-Pierre Duport, you will embark on a journey into music that may sound familiar, although you may never have heard it before. The pieces are performed by the solo cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Tamás Varga, together with multiple-prize winner Sophie Druml.

"Music and Knowledge: “Father and Son”"

Jakob Kropfitsch (piano) | David Kropfitsch (violin) | Johannes Kropfitsch (piano)

This concert looks at different facets of famous father-son relationships in the music world: Leopold and Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, and Johann Strauss father and son, to mention but a few. Listen to musical masterpieces with explanations by ProfessorJohannes
Kropfitsch.

"Music and Knowledge: “Concerto and Cadenza”"

Miho Fujimoto (piano) | Streich-Sextet

In a letter to his daughter of February 14 and 16, 1785, Leopold Mozart wrote of a concert by Wolfgang: “The concert was unforgettable, the orchestra admirable … then there was a new and sublime piano concerto by Wolfgang…” He was referring to the piano concerto in D minor KV 466, the first of only two piano concertos by Mozart in a minor key, which the pianist Miho Fujimoto will perform on this evening with a string sextet in an arrangement by Carl Czerny. The evening will be presented and the music explained by Professor Johannes Kropfitsch.