The Bologna-based Orchestra Mozart is the result of an initiative by Claudio Abbado. Founded in 2004 under the umbrella of the Accademia Filarmonica Bologna, it brings together young musicians from all over Europe with leading international orchestras. Its musical focus is on works of the Classical and Romantic periods; in addition to the symphonic repertoire, it also regularly performs chamber music. Early on, the Orchestra Mozart received awards such as the «Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik» (German Record Critics' Prize) and the “Echo Klassik”. Soloists who have performed with the Orchestra Mozart include Yuja Wang, Isabelle Faust, and Martha Argerich. Since 2019, Daniele Gatti has served as musical director of the orchestra, which launched a large-scale performance cycle of all Beethoven symphonies in 2022. CLOSE

Daniele Gatti studied at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. He is Music Director of the Orchestra Mozart, Artistic Advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. From August 2024 he will be Chief Conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. He was Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and he previously held prestigious roles at important musical institutions like the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Royal Opera House of London, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Zurich’s Opernhaus and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. The Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala are just a few of the renowned symphonic institutions he works with. He has recorded for the Sony Classical, RCO Live and C Major labels. CLOSE

"Bright, always ready for a joke, cheerful": this is how Beethoven appeared to his contemporaries while writing his Symphony No. 4. The composition itself also brims with joie de vivre and musical wit – especially in comparison with its sister works, the heroic Third and the pugnacious Fifth. The musical starting point is, of course, the same in all works, namely the work with contrasts: rhythmic, harmonic, melodic, stylistic. Only here these do not lead to conflict, triumph, or downfall, but are resolved playfully, with much humour and ingenuity.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Beethoven the symphonist is his ability to reinvent himself with each work. His Sixth Symphony, for example, strikes a very different note from its predecessor: it is not about inner struggles, but about immersion in nature. At the same time, Beethoven also makes use of new compositional concepts. Instead of musical conflicts and intensifications, he focuses on relaxation, variation, circular movements, and playing with timbres. This circumstance becomes even more remarkable when one knows that the Fifth and Sixth symphonies were partly written in parallel – they were even premiered in the same concert.