Mozart in Makati

As music lovers the world over celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – with many traveling to Salzburg and Vienna – local admirers of Mozart will have the opportunity to appreciate "the music genius of all time" right here. On May 29, the Santuario de San Antonio Parish in Makati and the Johann Strauss Society will present "An Evening with Mozart", a benefit gala concert to be held in the parish church at 7:30 p.m.

At a luncheon Thursday at Mandarin Oriental Manila – Austrian Ambassador Herbert Jaeger was special guest – Santuario de San Antonio parish priest Fr. Tony Rosales and the concert’s over-all chair Letty Syquia of the Johann Strauss Society, announced that proceeds will go to the Santuario’s parish outreach program and the landslide victims of Southern Leyte.

The Austrian Embassy, the Mandarin and the Swiss International Airlines have committed full support to the event which is a stellar feature of the European Month celebration in May.

The program will consist of two movements of Mozart’s Concerto for Flute and Harp in C Major, a sonata for organ solo, and the Coronation Mass for Orchestra, Choir and Solo Singers. Mandarin’s GM Helmut Gaisberger and VP of Johann Strauss Society will collaborate on production details with choir director Amelita Guevara and Austrian guest conductor Ernest Hoetzl. He will be flying from Austria with his wife Marianne who will perform the flute solo, with Lourdes de Leon Gregorio as harp soloist. Also to be featured are the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the Coro de San Antonio, soprano Camille Lopez and organist Alejandro Consolacion.

"We are delighted to celebrate the genius of one of the world’s greatest and perhaps most beloved classical composers while raising funds for a worthy cause," says Mrs. Syquia, adding, "the artistry of fused Austrian and Filipino talents is not to be missed."

Assisting in various committees are Joey Soriano, Justa Tantoco, Danny Dolor, Peachy Maramba, Randy Limjoco and Charisse Chuidian, Mandarin’s director of communications.

More on Mozart

Of all the classical composers who hold a special place in music history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most famous, and certainly one of the most accomplished. Today, his compositions have taken a firm hold in the world of classical music, and his pieces are often heard throughout concerts in the world. Although Mozart died at the young age of 35, he left behind a legacy of works that are now regarded as masterpieces. However, his accomplishments were not just the work of a musical genius; Mozart worked and studied hard throughout his lifetime, putting his heart and soul into the music he composed. It is for these reasons that Mozart is perhaps the most respected classical composer in history.

Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27th, 1756. His father, a skilled violinist and music teacher himself, encouraged his young son to play many instruments from the tender age of three – instruments ranging from violin to the organ and beyond. By the age of five, Mozart had started composing music for himself.

As a young man, Mozart travelled extensively throughout Europe, with his time spent in Vienna in the early 1770s being particularly rewarding; it was here he composed two operas, Mitridate and Lucio Silla. Later during this decade, Mozart’s first operas began to be performed in Germany, and he found employment from 1774 to 1777 at the court of the Prince Archbishop in his hometown of Salzburg. During this period, the classical composer completed his violin concertos, along with various symphonies and masses, and six piano sonatas among other pieces.

The next few years saw Mozart searching for further success as a classical composer, his travels taking him from Paris to Munich and back to Vienna. Mozart supplemented his income by teaching and playing either privately or in public. The composer married Constanze Weber in 1782 and decided to devote his time to writing piano concertos, he had created fifteen by the end of 1786.

The year 1786 saw Mozart team up with respected librettist Lorenzo da Ponte for the comic operas that were to become his most famous works; these included The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. However, these years also saw a substantial decline in health for the classical composer, and he died on December 5th, 1791. The attendant physician recorded Mozart’s death as fever, a somewhat vague notion that led to widespread speculation as to the real cause behind the composer’s demise; some attributed it to rheumatic fever; others believed (and some still do) that Mozart had been poisoned.

Mozart’s status as an innovative classical composer stems from his ceaseless exploration and experimentation with musical genres. He developed his style throughout his lifetime and did not simply stick to the major trends of the Baroque period; in particular he made the piano concerto his own, bringing it to popularity through sheer hard work.

Mozart’s music can best be described as containing natural order and balance (a typical by-product of his enlightenment, or rational beliefs), and having a focus on harmony and uncomplicated-yet-unforgettable melody. His later works concentrate on expressing human emotion and psychology through music and to this end, he developed a degree of subtlety rarely found in any classical composer.

The sheer amount of his compositions has given him legendary status. Today, he is more popular than ever, often ranked alongside Beethoven and Bach as one of the three top composers of all time.

Source: http://www.mozart.biz