Mostly Mozart: Glass Harmonica

Musical experimentation is as old as music itself, and often leads to work which still resonate decades or – in Mozart’s case – centuries after the event. 

Take the adagio for glass harmonica. This unique, vanished instrument, a series of graduated bowls mounted on an iron spindle, was invented by one of history’s legendary polymaths, Benjamin Franklin. Hugely popular in its day (Paganini hailed its ‘celestial voice’), it was also said to cause nervous disorders and fits of despair. Beethoven, Berlioz and Donizetti were among the hundreds of composers to write music for it, but few works for glass harmonica are as haunting as Mozart’s Adagio, written in the last year of his life. 

In addition to his buoyant Divertimento and the elegance of the Rondeau en polonaise, this concert you’ll offers you an expanded version of Mozart’s famous Rondo alla Turca in which ANAM percussionists join in the fun to create a performance that is…well…Turkish delightful. 

If Mozart is emblematic of the classical spirit, the Hungarian composer György Ligeti is one of the 20th centuries essential composers, and in this program you’ll hear two of his most influential works; first the chamber concerto, a thrilling adventure in texture and tonality, and then the excerpt from Musica Ricercata, a collection of pieces in which Ligeti attempted to build a compositional style from the ground up.

Györg LIGETI Chamber Concerto for 13 Instruments
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Piano Sonata no. 6 and 11, arr. percussion
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Adagio for Glass Harmonica, arr. percussion
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART Divertimento in D major, arr. percussion 
Györg LIGETI Musica Ricercata, arr. percussion (selections)

Timothy Young (ANAM Head of Piano) director/piano
Peter Neville (ANAM Head of Percussion) director/percussion
ANAM Musicians


Timothy Young’s ANAM Faculty position is supported by an anonymous donor.

Peter Neville's position as Head of Percussion at ANAM is supported by Kerry Landman.

 

Season packages available:

5 Concert Package
Standard $200 ($172 Concession)
Book 5 concerts

4 Concert Package
Standard $168 ($145 Concession)
Book 4 concerts

3 Concert Package
Standard $129 ($108 Concession)
Book 3 concerts

 

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