Classical Journey

Clelia Cafiero

In 1787 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart travelled to Prague with his family. In his luggage he carried the manuscript of a new symphony – grand in scope, harmonically daring and with a flair that was a match for any of his operas. One of these, Le nozze di Figaro, was enjoying such a success in the city at the time that expectations were running high for the planned benefit concert by the new superstar. Mozart fully rose to the occasion with the premiere of this Symphony No. 38, which has been linked to the Golden City ever since.  

Touring can be tiring, as Felix Mendelssohn realized some fifty years later. In 1829, as he sought to unwind after a concert tour in London, he travelled to Scotland. Impressed by the rugged highlands and the ruins of Holyrood Chapel, he scribbled down the first musical idea of what years later would become his Symphony No. 3. In a letter to his family, he even called it his ‘Scottish’: an ambitious work that, with its imitations of bagpipes and Scottish folk music, sums up his travel impressions in a single movement.  

With Schubert’s overture to Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus also on the programme, conductor Clelia Cafiero and the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra will take you on a Grand Tour of the royal cities and external borders of classical symphony.