Orchestra Concert of Programmatic ballet music

Solo concert with music from the Mannheim School by Anders Muskens, played on an original Longman and Broderip fortepiano c. 1788.

Solo concert with music from the Mannheim School by Anders Muskens, played on a John Broadwood & Sons Grand piano c. 1806

Solo concert with music from the Mannheim School by Anders Muskens, played on an original Broadwood fortepiano from 1794

Anders Muskens leads the international ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester along with Canadian soprano Elisabeth Hetherington in a concert showcasing symphonies and opera from the golden age of the Mannheim court during 1750–78. The then-famous Mannheim orchestra and its school inspired generations of composers, including a young Mozart who travelled there in 1777. “Army of Generals” comes from a quote by English musicologist Charles Burney, who visited Mannheim and Schwetzingen (the summer residence of the court) in 1772 and wrote: “There are more solo players and good composers in this, than perhaps in any other orchestra in Europe; it is an army of generals, equally fit to plan a battle, as to fight it.” We seek to revive this often neglected repertory and explore what made it so captivating for eighteenth-century audiences; and certainly also modern ones.

Anders Muskens leads the international ensemble Das Neue Mannheimer Orchester along with Canadian soprano Elisabeth Hetherington in a concert showcasing symphonies and opera from the golden age of the Mannheim court during 1750–78. The then-famous Mannheim orchestra and its school inspired generations of composers, including a young Mozart who travelled there in 1777. “Army of Generals” comes from a quote by English musicologist Charles Burney, who visited Mannheim and Schwetzingen (the summer residence of the court) in 1772 and wrote: “There are more solo players and good composers in this, than perhaps in any other orchestra in Europe; it is an army of generals, equally fit to plan a battle, as to fight it.” We seek to revive this often neglected repertory and explore what made it so captivating for eighteenth-century audiences; and certainly also modern ones.

Composer and pianist Anders Muskens and his ensemble, which is oriented toward Regency-period chamber music, move in various areas of chamber music between intimate domesticity and sophisticated salon.

Classical music and contemporary dance merge in a unique and powerful performance. The choreography of Dimo Milev, together with Aya Misaky and Elaine Meijerink will present you the music of Mozart, Beethoven and Dussek under a new and unexpected light.

The first major concert of the anniversary festival sheds light on the golden age of music in Mannheim and Schwetzingen.