Mozart Festival at Triskel this Easter Weekend

It is always a good time for Mozart! Join us this Easter for a wonderful celebration of some of his most loved and treasured compositions.

This two-concert series will feature Mozart’s much-loved Piano Concerto in D minor K.466, his joyful Piano Concerto in A major K.414 alongside his beautiful Concerto for flute and harp. All three concertos have been arranged for soloists and string quartet thus making this a rare opportunity to hear Mozart’s celebrated concertos in a more intimate and personal way. Mozart’s sublime Adagio in B minor and dramatic Fantasy in C minor for solo piano will open this wonderful two-concert event. This celebration of Mozart promises to fill your musical soul with joy.
Take a little timeout from the craziness of the world we live in today and enjoy the timeless beauty of Mozart’s effortless melodies, stunning harmonies and heartfelt works of art.

The first concert will go live at 8pm on Triskel’s Digital Stage on Friday 2 April, the second at 8pm on Saturday 3 April. Both concerts will be available for ticketholders to watch until 8pm on Monday 5 April.

Dr. Fionnuala Moynihan: Piano and Curator of Festival
Geraldine O’Doherty: Harp
Kieran Moynihan: Flute
String Quartet: Musici Ireland
Beth McNinch: Viola and artistic director of Musici Ireland
Lynda O’Connor and Lidia Jewloszewicz-Clarke: Violin
Yseult Cooper Stockdale: Cello

PROGRAMME

FRIDAY 2 APRIL

Adagio in B minor K.540:
Fionnuala Moynihan (piano)
It was very rare for Mozart to compose in the key of B minor and the only other instrumental work he composed in this key appears in the slow movement from his flute quartet no.1. A hauntingly beautiful work composed for solo piano Mozart entered it into his catalogue of works in March 1788. This piece has an improvisatory feel and bears all the characteristics of Mozart’s genius. I adore performing it.

Fantasy K.475 in C minor:
Fionnuala Moynihan (piano)
This stunning work is unique among Mozart’s compositions as it was published alongside Mozart’s piano sonata in C minor K.457. This is the one and only time Mozart ever published a piano sonata accompanied by a work of another genre. It was composed in Vienna on 20 May in 1785. Personally, I love performing this work as it allows one’s imagination to take flight. It is a fantasy, meant to be set free from any musical constraints of the time. At times, this work showcases Mozart’s ability to glimpse the characteristics of the Romantic era that was to follow. Several ‘sections’ make up this work and each one has a character of its own ranging from the gentle, sweet and naïve to the passionate, desolate and majestic.
Piano Concerto K.414 in A major:
Fionnuala Moynihan (piano) with Musici Ireland
Composed in the Autumn of 1782 in Vienna, this concerto was the first of a set of three keyboard concertos that Mozart performed at his Lenten concerts in 1783. It falls into three exquisite movements filled with beautiful melodic lines, faultless harmony, inspired articulation and heartfelt emotion. The second movement is notable for quoting a theme from the overture to La calamita de’ cuori composed by Johann Christian Bach. Mozart’s former mentor in London, who had just died on 1 January 1782. Mozart felt the world a poorer place for his passing and we can take this concerto to be a musical epitaph from Mozart to his beloved teacher.

SATURDAY 3 APRIL

Piano Concerto K.466 in D minor:
Fionnuala Moynihan (piano) and Musici Ireland
The first performance of this passionate and stunning work took place at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna on 11 February in 1785. This is a much-admired concerto and a young Beethoven kept it in his repertoire. Several artists of note wrote cadenzas for their own performances of it including Brahms, Clara Schumann, Hummel and Busoni. With a dramatic opening movement, a second movement that flits between serenity and passion and a finale that abounds with energy and excitement this concerto has earned its place as one of the most treasured concertos for piano ever written.

Concerto for Flute and Harp K.299 in C major:
Geraldine O’Doherty (harp) and Kieran Moynihan (flute) with Musici Ireland
Composed in Paris in April 1778, this composition is in the form of a Sinfonia Concertante which was very popular in Paris at the time. Mozart composed this work for the Duke de Guines and his daughter. The Duke, though wealthy and a prominent member of society, was also noteworthy for failing to pay Mozart the full amount for this composition as well as lessons he gave to the Duke’s daughter. This concerto has become one of the most cherished and beloved concertos for duo. The beauty of harp and flute combine to create a sound that is truly special. This concerto bears all the hallmarks of Mozart’s masterful touch and to me it always brings a feeling of joy, hope and harmony.

Sit back and enjoy this journey through some of Mozart’s most iconic works. Mozart’s genius transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary and reminds us of the power music has to brighten each and every day if you let it enter your heart.