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Mozart – Piano Concerto No.23
Bruckner – Symphony No.5
Kirill Karabits, Awadagin Pratt

In just four years Mozart wrote sixteen glorious piano concertos. No.23 (K.488) was an immediate success, remaining popular probably as much for its wistfulness as for melodies verging on the sublime. It does not open with fanfare – rather it begins with a gentle melody, setting the stage for a unique blend of moods from quiet serenity to flashes of aural radiance. The spirited finale perhaps reminds us that this was the product of one of the most exhilarating periods in his tragically brief life.

In his Fifth Symphony, Bruckner built on the Austro-German symphonic tradition of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, taking it to a monumental scale infused with rich, progressive harmonies and a stunning mastery of counterpoint, containing his most complex and innovative musical thoughts, set out like a huge mathematical puzzle.