Balthasar-Neumann-Chor und -Ensemble / Duncan Ward

Reaching for the stars

London, Milan, Mannheim, Paris: when the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart took up his post as court organist in Salzburg early in 1779, he already knew all European music centres and was familiar with the musical trends of his time. He aspired to greater things than an existence as organist in his home town, which had long since become too confined for him. Thus he composed settings of the vespers and the Mass, symphonies and serenades that went far beyond what was expected of him in terms of their artistic level.