Mozart / Beethoven

Mozart, Beethoven: at first glance, two composers one might not associate directly with the musical world of Les Arts Florissants. And yet...

While Mozart's name has become synonymous with so-called "classical" music, his genius did not emerge from nowhere. He followed in the footsteps of the Baroque composers who preceded him, and whose works his father Leopold Mozart had studied extensively - a knowledge one might reasonably assume he passed on to his son.

Beethoven continued this lineage. A pupil of Haydn and Mozart's heir apparent from childhood, the young Ludwig continued the Viennese musical tradition, while immersing himself in Baroque writing techniques. His composition teacher, Christian Gottlieb Neefe, introduced him to the art of fugue and recommended the study of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Indeed, Neefe had been a pupil of Johann Adam Hiller, Johann Sebastian Bach's successor in Leipzig... and of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach himself.

Paul Agnew's approach to Mozart and Beethoven continues Les Arts Florissants' exploration of the great classical works, and is a logical extension of the ensemble's preferred repertoire. On this occasion, he joins forces with virtuoso violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte, the figurehead of a new generation of Baroque performers and a loyal collaborator of the ensemble founded by William Christie.

A new milestone in the Arts Flo history - and a musical rendez-vous not to be missed!