Instructor: Prof Emeritus Michael Roeder Fee: Members $75 Non-members $95

Leopold Mozart (1719-87) took his prodigy children, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-91) and Maria Anna (“Nannerl” 1751-1829), on tour to display and exploit their gifts and to expose the boy to music and musicians in important musical centres of Europe. We will join W. A. Mozart on some of his journeys to discover various influences on his developing compositional style. By the time of his move from his birthplace in Salzburg to Vienna in 1781, Mozart had assimilated and merged these diverse musical influences into a remarkable personal style.

Mozart was the master of every medium and musical genre current in his time. His music, along with that of Haydn (1732-1809) and Beethoven (1770-1827), represents the height of the Viennese Classical style.

Mozart’s music runs the gamut from light entertainment music (divertimenti and serenades) to the most profound and deeply moving chamber music, symphonies, concertos, choral music, and, above all, operas, which were his passion. We will explore examples from each category in varying degrees of depth. Some works, like Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550, Piano Concerto in B-Flat, K. 456, String Quintet in G minor, K. 516; Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola in E-flat Major, K. 364, and the opera Don Giovanni, will be studied in greater detail. Excellent audio and video recordings will enhance our experience.

Please join in this remarkable musical journey!