La Petite Bande . Sigiswald Kuijken

In its early years, La Petite Bande limited itself to the French and German baroque repertoire. In the meantime, the orchestra has become comfortable with the classic Viennese repertoire. And whoever deals with Vienna, deals with Mozart. The Salzburg genius established himself in the Austrian capital in 1781, where his musicality could blossom to the full. The result was a series of unrivalled masterpieces, from chamber music, through symphonies, to operas. In this programme, Mozart's late symphonies are the central theme. His 39th and 41st are famous for their ambitious proportions and their sophisticated instrumentation. But also for their thematic richness, which is dished up in whirling counterpoint. From the slow introduction of No. 39 to the triumphant finale of the Jupiter symphony, you can hear pronounced 'classical' masterpieces with seeds of the romantic symphony thrown in. Naturally, the melodies are expressive, and they are stronger harmonically. With Mozart's handling of the wind section, and particularly the woodwind, he achieved radical new effects in sound colour. Mozart wrote his 'Coronation Concerto' in 1790 to honour the recently crowned Emperor Leopold II. This exuberant and sprightly piano concerto moves in a balanced and even way between structure and virtuosity. It is the diamond in Mozart's piano oeuvre and a jewel in the crown in the repertoire of the pianist Luc Devos.