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News |  26 Dec 2014 18:44 |  By RnMTeam

Ian Page's Classical Opera to embark on 27-year long Mozart project

MUMBAI: Critically acclaimed orchestra conductor Ian Page plans to embark on a 27-year long journey exploring the life and work of Mozart. Along with his company, Classical Opera, Ian plans to embark on the Mozart 250 project. This marks the anniversary of Mozart's visit to London during which, he wrote his first symphony.  The format will follow Mozart's life and work every year till 2041 to mark 27 years of Mozart's life until his death in 1791.

Over the next 27 years, Classical Opera will perform all of Mozart's major works including all his operas, oratorios and concert arias; most of his symphonies and concertos; and many of his chamber and instrumental compositions.

Page is hopeful that the project will bring to light Mozart's highs and lows - when he was doing well and when he was struggling, when he was working on dance music to make money, rather than on the operas he really wanted to write. Page said, "The more we work with music from that period, the more we engage with audiences, the more fascinated I become by telling stories through concerts rather than it just being a series of pieces that we would like to play for you." The idea of Mozart 250 is to give audiences a deeper understanding of one of the most naturally talented artistes of all time.

Events scheduled for 2015 will see the project exploring a chapter of Mozart's life that few people know. Page said, "The original score was fascinating - the title page looks like it was written by a child, full of crossings out, whereas the music is near-perfect. "I think it is every bit as good as what contemporary adult composers were doing – it is an individual voice already. It is a bit like Shakespeare; there are better and worse plays but all of them have things which nobody else would have thought of, and Mozart has that."

Page hopes this project will get the current generation of music enthusiasts more interested in Mozart. "I would be depressed if we did not get people who want to learn about Mozart," said Page. "There are so many more people out there who think they might quite like opera in particular and classical music in general, but are either too scared or too intimidated or just a bit fearful."

The project will begin on 22 January with 1765 – a musical retrospective at Wigmore Hall in London in which Mozart's musical childhood will be put in the limelight with music performed by composers such as Gluck, Haydn and JC Bach as well as the first symphony and concert arias from a very young Mozart.

From 20-22 February, the weekend would feature an immersive variety of events, talks and concerts at Milton Court, London. This event is planned to explore more fully Mozart's childhood stay in London.

Speaking on the extraordinarily long and ambitious arts project, Page told The Guardian, "A few people have pointed out that I might be dead before we finish."

 

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