Mozart in Italy

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Johann Adolf Hasse (1699–1783): Sinfonia from the opera “Ruggiero”
Thomas Linley (1756–1778): Violin Concerto in F Major
Venanzio Rauzzini (1746–1810): Sinfonia in D Major
Franz Lamotte (1751–1780): Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Sinfonia in D Major KV 111/120

Reinhard Goebel, conductor
Mirijam Contzen, violin
bayerische kammerphilharmonie

During the 18th century, not only those in the fine arts considered a stay in Italy to be de rigueur; musicians, as well, held it to be part and parcel of an extensive artistic education. And of course, the Italian sun witnessed a great deal of exchange between northern Europeans of the widest possible origins. The young Mozart, for example, met Thomas Linley there, a British violinist his own age. Johann Adolf Hasse – who was practically considered an Italian – was a generation older. Immediately after his festive opera Ruggiero, Mozart’s Serenata Ascanio in Alba was performed – to much greater acclaim.
Mozart wrote his famous Exsultate, jubilate specifically for castrato Venenzio Rauzzini, who later became a successful composer in London. Flemish violinist Franz Lamotte was sent to Italy to study by his sponsor Maria Theresia. Like Mozart, he traveled to Naples, where he waited in vain – as did Mozart – for an audience at the court.
Reinhard Goebel has intensively studied Mozart’s musical world and those with whom he had contact. For this CD, he has put together a program that illuminates the diverse relationships and reciprocal influences of the northern Europeans in Italy, including violin concertos by Linley and Lamotte.