Herbert Blomstedt conducts Voříšek and Mozart

Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester honour former Gewandhauskapellmeister Václav Neumann’s 100th anniversary with a musical journey to Prague.

With these concerts, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig embarked on a musical journey to the Czech Republic in memory of its former conductor Václav Neumann.

It was there that Jan Václav Voříšek was born in 1791, the year of Mozart’s death, and was taken away from it by pulmonary tuberculosis at the same age as Mozart, only 34 years old. The manuscript of his D Major Symphony shares the fate of the symphonies of his friend and companion Franz Schubert and was neither printed nor performed during his lifetime. In the meantime, however, it has become his most frequently performed work!

A short, late and rare happy chapter of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s moving biography is set in the capital of the Czech Republic. When he arrived in Prague in January 1787, he was quite astonished: That his music met with such great enthusiasm was by no means a matter of course for Mozart. Looking back, he will describe his successes in Prague as the most beautiful moments of his life. The D Major Symphony K. 504 was premiered in Prague and opens the group of Mozart’s last four symphonies.

Jan Václav Voříšek
Symphony D major, op. 23

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Symphony D major, K. 504 (“Prague”)

Herbert Blomstedt, conductor
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Recorded live in 4K at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, 17 September 2020.

A production of Accentus Music in cooperation with MDR and Arte Concert.
Directed by Ute Feudel
Produced by Paul Smaczny

Production Company Accentus Music GmbH
Assoc. Prod. Company MDR
Assoc. Prod. Company Arte Concert
Composer Jan Václav Voříšek
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Orchestra / Band Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Conductor Herbert Blomstedt