When nine-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was in London, he aroused the interest of scientists from the Royal Society who suspected that his father, Leopold Mozart, was lying about his son’s age in order to cause a sensation with the child’s extraordinary musical skills. One of the scientists subjected the young artist to a series of tests at the harpsichord to verify his date of birth and the actual level of development of his talent. However, the tests had to be interrupted when Mozart’s favorite cat appeared in the room, and for a long time it was impossible to bring the boy back to the instrument, which in itself dispelled many of the ardent researcher’s doubts. In many ways, the young composer was no different from his peers.

The final concert of this year’s Leo Festival, held on Children’s Day, will be devoted to the childhood of the Salzburg-born Classicist. The event will begin with the Children’s Symphony, once attributed to Joseph Haydn, today to Leopold Mozart. The creation of the piece is connected with the Alpine town of Berchtesgaden, located near Salzburg. In the 18th century, it was famous for the production of wooden toys, including miniature instruments for children (and the little Amadeus certainly played them). There was also a body of music composed specially for these toys. An example is the three-movement Children’s Symphony. In addition to the traditional line-up of strings, it also features a toy trumpet, a rattle, bird whistles, pipes, a triangle, a drum and bells. During the concert, they will be played by students from Wrocław music schools.

The next composition we will listen to was created by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although when he wrote his Third Violin Concerto, he was no longer a child, this piece by the 19-year-old Wolfgang can certainly be called a youthful one. At that time, though, Mozart already held the prominent position of concertmaster in the orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Hieronymus Colloredo. The artist’s style was not yet fully formed then, but the work is a wonderful example of Classical aesthetics. The most important thing here is not virtuosity of performance, but the beauty of the melodies. Since one of them was supposed to come from Strasbourg, Amadeus in a letter to his father referred to the composition as the “Strassburg Concerto”. Other letters written by Wolfgang to Mozart Sr, as well as to his sister, will be read during the last festival concert by Krzysztof Szczepaniak.