In Alfred Schnittke’s intriguing compositions, various styles clash with each other, and the artist often seasoned musical quotes with a dose of dark humour. This is also the case of the work being the axis of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra concert. The programme is complemented by classical works by Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with whom Schnittke dialogued in his composition.

Moz-Art à la Haydn by Alfred Schnittke dates from 1977 and is scored for two violins and a small string orchestra. In this work, Schnittke freely uses quotations from various works by Haydn and Mozart. The former is represented by fragments of the Symphony in F sharp minor “Farewell”, the latter by a quote from the Symphony in G minor KV 550 and sketches from an unfinished humorous pantomime. Haydn’s and Mozart’s idioms were processed by Schnittke with a use of modern articulation and harmonic means that give an impression of listening to Viennese Classicists as if reflected in a distorting mirror. Equally important are the elements of staging in this work. The performance of Moz-Art à la Haydn begins with the lights off, and toward the end of the work, the individual musicians leave the stage, and at the very end only the conductor keeps track of time.

The second part of the evening will begin with the performance of Mozart’s Divertimento in D major KV 251. This six-movement composition was written in July 1776 in Salzburg to celebrate his sister’s name day or birthday (the former was celebrated on June 26 and the latter on June 30), hence it is sometimes called “Nannerl septet”. It is music full of grace and elegance, in which the melody comes to the fore. The Divertimento was a very popular genre in the music of the 18th century, and thanks to its lightness and accessibility, it was hugely popular and treated as light entertainment. Haydn’s Symphony in C minor Hob I:52 will be the last work in the programme, one of his last pieces from the period of “Sturm und Drang”. The compositions written by Haydn at that time are full of dramatic tension. For this reason, one scholar has referred to the Symphony in C minor as “the grandfather of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony”. Both works are connected not only by the precision of form, but also by a huge load of expression and the presence of numerous contrasts. These elements continue to surprise and engage modern listeners.