Victoria Martino: Mozart in Italy
MozArt and the Grand Tour: From Rococo to Romanticism - Art and Music in the Courts of 18th-Century Europe features the Musica Pro Arte Ensemble with art historian and concert violinist Victoria Martino, presenting her annual five-week lecture-concert series on art and music through the ages. This spring's installment celebrates the 260th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, following the great composer through the courts of 18th-century Europe. Each lecture-concert will feature the art and music of a country that Mozart visited on one or more of his Grand Tours. The audience will be able to step into Mozart's shoes and experience the sights and sounds of Europe's 18th-century elite. The musical culmination of each evening will be a violin concerto by Mozart.
Leopold Mozart had the greatest respect for the Italian musical tradition. One of young Wolfgang's most important formative musical experiences was his encounter with the renowned Bolognese composer, theoretician, and pedagogue, Padre Martini. Since the Baroque era, Italy had been a magnet for artists from all over Europe, and some of the leading painters of the 18th century made their home there, including Raphael Mengs, Angelika Kaufmann, and Gavin Hamilton. Conversely, Italian composers such as Luigi Boccherini and Antonio Salieri made their mark in other European courts, including Vienna.