We invite you to participate in the 14th Leo Festival. During the inaugural concert, the musicians of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra will perform, among others, the symphonies of two Viennese Classicists, the Little Suite by Witold Lutosławski, which is an example of the stylisation of Polish folklore, and the Nebelsteinmusik by Heinz Karl Gruber – a work whose title is associated with the picturesque landscapes of Lower Austria.

Symphony in G minor Hob. I:83 “La Poule” by Joseph Haydn belongs to the collection of Paris symphonies composed in 1785. It was commissioned by the Concert de la Loge Olympique association. The work owes its subtitle to the sounds of the theme, reminiscent of the characteristic cackling of a hen. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony in D major KV 385 was born out of the composer’s connections with probably the most eminent family of Salzburg – the Haffners, as it was commissioned for the ennoblement celebrations of Sigmund Haffner the Younger, whose father had been the mayor of this city for years. The piece, pulsating with spontaneity, is considered, alongside to the “Prague|” and “Linz” symphonies, as going far beyond the earlier achievements of symphonic music.

Witold Lutosławski’s Little Suite consists of four expressively differentiated movements – Pipe, Hurra Polka, Song and Dance. Each is a brilliant stylisation of Polish folklore. Originally, it was commissioned by a chamber radio orchestra performing popular music, but thanks to Grzegorz Fitelberg’s persuasion, Lutosławski rescored the suite for symphony orchestra. This version was performed for the first time during the inaugural concert of the Festival of Polish Music in 1951. Heinz Karl Gruber’s Nebelsteinmusik is based on two thematic ideas – a fragment of Andante Amoroso from Alban Berg’s Lyrische Suite and a musical anagram referring to the persona of Gottfried von Einem, a great mentor of Berg – a precursor of atonal music, known mainly for his operas, although also superb at showing his individual style in instrumental compositions. Already his early works of this type reveal inspirations with elements of jazz and a virtuoso approach to the score.