WARM UP TO THE MUSIC OF MOZART

TSO Presents Mozart@256, January 11 – 22, 2012.
December 7, 2011 – This winter, warm up to the music of Mozart with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart@256 Festival, in performance January 11 – 22, 2012. Mozart was born 256 years ago this January and he endures as one of classical music’s most brilliant composers. With his range of musical expression and his mastery of all the musical forms of his time, this eighth annual TSO festival celebrating his music and anniversary is an audience favourite.

This year’s festival opens with a programme including both the first and last symphonies that Mozart wrote (January 12, 2012). This concert highlights the composer’s precocious beginnings in the realm of the symphonic form to his maturity as one of the most influential symphonic writers of the classical period. Pianist Leon Fleisher is both soloist and conductor in this programme where he is joined by his wife Katherine Jacobson Fleisher and former student Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear for Mozart’s Concerto for Three Pianos and Orchestra. On January 11, skip rush hour and enjoy an Afterworks series concert featuring the Concerto for Three Pianos and Orchestra and the Symphony No. 41.

On Saturday January 14 young music lovers are invited to join Mozart’s Magnificent Voyage in special performances just for kids. In this fun introduction to Mozart’s music and the symphony, an old travelling trunk serves as a magic chest that reveals an incredible journey back in time. 23 year-old conductor Joshua Weilersteinmakes his TSO début, leading the orchestra in excerpts from Mozart’s most important and engaging works.

TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian leads Mozart’s final and unfinished work, the Requiem, in performances on January 18, 19, 21 and 22. It is one of the most enigmatic pieces of music ever composed, because of the myths and controversies surrounding it and questions concerning how much of the piece was actually completed by Mozart before his death. Joining the TSO are soloistsSimone Osborne, Kelley O’Connor, Frédéric Antoun andTyler Duncan as well as the Amadeus Choir and Elmer Iseler Singers. Making his TSO début on this final Mozart@256 programme is Canadian teenage piano sensation Jan Lisiecki, performing the brooding intensity of Mozart’s Concerto No. 20.

TSO 90th Season Sponsor is BMO Financial Group. 
Mozart@256 Series Sponsor is Invesco Ltd.
Young People’s Concert Series Sponsor is Desjardins Group.

About the TSO: Founded in 1922, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s major cultural institutions and is internationally recognized as a leading orchestra. Under the leadership of Music Director Peter Oundjian, the TSO is committed to innovative programming and showcases a roster of distinguished guest artists and conductors. In addition to performances, the TSO serves the community with one of the largest music education outreach programmes in Canada, connecting students throughout Ontario with acclaimed curriculum-based programming. tso.ca