Conductor Marie Jacquot is back, and with her she brings another piano concerto: Mozart’s challenging Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor for piano and orchestra. The expressive Markus Schirmer is the soloist. Mozart’s Piano Concertos (27 in total) are thought to be among the best of his collected compositions, and the 24th in particular is the favourite of many. Both Beethoven and Brahms admired it.
In autumn 2023, French Marie Jacquot presented a celebrated performance at the Concert Hall with the Symphony Orchestra and pianist Peter Jablonski. Since then, she has taken over as chief conductor of the Royal Danish Theatre Copenhagen; she is also principal guest conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Already at age 27, she was kapellmeister for the Würzburg Opera and thanks to a broad repertoire, she continues to work with many major symphony orchestras and opera houses. Quick work, given that until age 15 she was focused on a tennis career and played in the French Open as a junior.
To conclude this evening, we hear Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6. With its different form and style, it has occasionally been called the ugly duckling of his symphonies. But as the final measures fade out, it is clear that the duckling has become a beautiful swan.
