APR 23-25, 2021
Music Hall

Louis Langrée conductor
Christopher Sales bassoon

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Symphony No. 25 in G Minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor

The CSO is grateful to CSO Season Sponsor Western & Southern Financial Group and Fort Washington Investment Advisors.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is grateful for the support of the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation, the Nina Browne Parker Trust, and the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding. This project was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The CSO in-orchestra Steinway piano is made possible in part by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born: January 27, 1756, Salzburg, Austria
Died: December 5, 1791, Vienna

Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183

• Composition History: Mozart composed the Symphony No. 25 in 1773, the first of only two of his symphonies in the key of G minor (the other is the Symphony No. 40, which will also be heard on this program). The work, in which Mozart employs the Sturm und Drang (“storm and stress”) style, was first performed on October 5, 1773 in Salzburg.
• Instrumentation: 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, strings
• CSO Subscription Performances: The CSO has performed the Symphony No. 25 on four previous subscription weekends, starting in February 1942 under Sir John Barbirolli. Other notable performances were with Ivan Fischer in 1991 and Itzhak Perlman in 2011.

Concerto in B-flat Major for Bassoon and Orchestra, K. 191

• Composition History: Mozart wrote this earliest of his concertos for wind instrument, the B-flat Major Bassoon Concerto, in June 1774, just after his third visit to Vienna. Its premiere date is unknown.
• Instrumentation: solo bassoon, 2 oboes, 2 horns, strings
• CSO Subscription Performances: The CSO has performed the Bassoon Concerto on three previous subscription weekends, starting with February 1968 under Max Rudolf with Otto Eifert (CSO Principal Bassoon from the 1961–62 through 1986–87 seasons), and, most recently, in September 2006 with Paavo Järvi and William Winstead, who retired in 2018 after 32 years as Principal Bassoon. Winstead also was soloist for the work in January 1991 under Jesús López Cobos.

Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550

• Composition History: Mozart composed the symphonies nos. 39, 40 and 41 during the summer of 1788, possibly with their publication as a trilogy in mind. He entered the Symphony No. 40 into his catalog on July 25, 1788, but the date of its premiere is unknown.
• Instrumentation: flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, strings
• CSO Subscription Performances: Nearly every CSO Music Director has conducted Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 at least once, starting with the Orchestra’s inaugural concert conducted by Frank Van der Stucken in January 1895 at Pike Opera House. Louis Langrée led the most recent subscription performance in March 2017 at the Taft Theatre.