The First Viennese School

Program:

BEETHOVEN: Coriolan Overture, op. 62

MOZART: Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622

SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, D. 485

The First Viennese School or Viennese Classic denotes a style in Western art music that emerged in the 18th century and informed the music of the early 19th century. The beginning of the Classical period dates back to as early as 1720, but the music of the mature Classical period that we have come to love was refined by four composers centered around Vienna – Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.

This program presents Beethoven’s impassioned Coriolan Overture, which portrays through music the drama of a Roman patrician who softens from a mindset of vengeance to one of forgiveness. The Columbus Symphony’s principal clarinetist, David Thomas, will be featured in Mozart’s beloved Clarinet Concerto. The work written shortly before Mozart’s death, showcases the sublime sound of the clarinet in a delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra. Schubert’s sunny Symphony No. 5 will round out the program. In character, the music is often said to resemble Mozart. Schubert was infatuated with the composer, writing in his diary on June 13 of the year of composition, “O Mozart! Immortal Mozart! What countless impressions of a brighter, better life hast thou stamped upon our souls!”