Sturm und Drang, Vol. 4 The Mozartists & Ian Page

• Joseph Martin Kraus (1756 - 1792): Symphony in C Minor, VB 142:
• 1 Kraus: Symphony in C Minor, VB 142: I. Larghetto - Allegro 09:47
• 2 Kraus: Symphony in C Minor, VB 142: II. Andante 05:33
• 3 Kraus: Symphony in C Minor, VB 142: III. Finale. Allegro assai 06:20
• Tommaso Traetta (1727 - 1779): Antigona, Act II:
• 4 Traetta: Antigona, Act II: Ombra cara, amorosa...Io rosto sempre a piangere 05:53
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): La finta giardiniera, K. 196, Act II:
• 5 Mozart: La finta giardiniera, K. 196, Act II: No. 13 Aria Arminda: Vorrei punirti indegno 04:04
• Georg Anton Benda (1722 - 1795): Scene from Medea:
• 6 Benda: Scene from Medea 09:49
• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): Symphony No. 45 in F-Sharp Minor, Hob.I:45 'Farewell':
• 7 Haydn: Symphony No. 45 in F-Sharp Minor, Hob.I:45 'Farewell': I. Allegro assai 07:20
• 8 Haydn: Symphony No. 45 in F-Sharp Minor, Hob.I:45 'Farewell': II. Adagio 13:35
• 9 Haydn: Symphony No. 45 in F-Sharp Minor, Hob.I:45 'Farewell': III. Menuet e trio: Allegretto 04:02
• 10 Haydn: Symphony No. 45 in F-Sharp Minor, Hob.I:45 'Farewell': IV. Finale. Presto - Adagio 07:13
• Total Runtime 01:13:36

Info for Sturm und Drang, Vol. 4

The fourth instalment in the Mozartists projected seven-volume series conducted by Ian Page pairs two turbulent minor-key symphonies by Kraus and Haydn with operatic scenes featuring soprano Alexandra Lowe. Kraus’s rarely heard Symphony in C minor, which Haydn predicted would be regarded as a masterpiece for centuries, sits alongside Haydn’s own celebrated Farewell Symphony. Lowe brings both fire and pathos to arias from Traetta’s Antigona and Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, and to the climactic scene from Benda’s melodrama Medea, a work Mozart so admired that he briefly hailed it as the future of opera.

“Alexandra Lowe’s finely-nuanced performance is electrifyingly powerful” – Early Music Review

Alexandra Lowe, soprano
The Mozartists
Ian Page, musical direction

Ian Page
is the founder, conductor and artistic director of Classical Opera and The Mozartists. He began his musical education as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and studied English Literature at the University of York before completing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the start of his career he worked on the music staff at Scottish Opera, Opera Factory, Drottningholm and Glyndebourne, working with such conductors as Sir Alexander Gibson, Nicholas McGegan, Mark Wigglesworth, Ivor Bolton and Sir Charles Mackerras.

With Classical Opera he has conducted most of Mozart’s operas, including the world premières of the “original” version of Mitridate, re di Ponto and a new completion of Zaide, as well as the UK premières of Gluck’s La clemenza di Tito, Telemann’s Orpheus and Jommelli’s Il Vologeso, and the first new staging for 250 years of Johann Christian Bach’s Adriano in Siria. In 2009 he made his Royal Opera House début conducting Arne’s Artaxerxes at the Linbury Studio Theatre, and his studio recording of the work was released in 2011 on Linn Records.

He also devised and conducted Classical Opera’s recordings of ‘The A-Z of Mozart Opera’ (Signum Classics) and ‘Blessed Spirit – a Gluck retrospective’ (Wigmore Hall Live), both of which were selected for Gramophone magazine’s annual Critics’ Choice, and in 2012 he embarked on a new complete cycle of Mozart opera recordings with Classical Opera. He is the creator and driving force behind of MOZART 250, a ground-breaking 27-year journey through Mozart’s life, works and influences, and in 2017 founded The Mozartists to facilitate his ever-expanding concert work.

Ian is deeply committed to nurturing and championing outstanding young singers and players – for several years he was a professor at the Royal College of Music, and he has given masterclasses for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme. He is also a passionate spokesman for classical music, opera and the arts, and has broadcast on BBC 4 and Sky Arts.

The Mozartists
were created in 2017 by conductor, Ian Page, as a natural extension of his pioneering work with internationally renowned opera company, Classical Opera.

Classical Opera is best known for its current series, Mozart 250, in which they perform each year the operas and music that Mozart and his contemporaries composed 250 years ago. Comprising many of today’s leading period instrumentalists, The Mozartists perform alongside some of the world’s most exciting young singers.

In this concert, The Mozartists present a wide- ranging selection of works by Haydn, including a piano trio, songs, duets and some of his most delightful folksong settings, interspersed with two dramatically charged A minor sonatas by Mozart and Koželuch, played on the fortepiano by Steven Devine.

Booklet for Sturm und Drang, Vol. 4