Roberto González-Monjas
Mao Fujita Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schmidt

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) never experienced greater popularity and fame during his lifetime than in Vienna in the mid-1780s. A key factor in his success was a series of concerts where he performed as the soloist in his own piano concertos.

Before Mozart’s time, solo concertos were mostly performed in private settings. Mozart expanded the orchestra and the format, and with dazzling virtuosity and captivating melodies, his piano concertos reached a wide audience. Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major remains one of the most beloved today.

During Vienna’s cultural golden age in the decades around 1900, Franz Schmidt (1874–1939) stood out as one of the most versatile and fascinating musical talents. A highly respected pianist and cellist among legendary composers and artists, he developed a distinctive musical voice of his own.

Though Schmidt’s music may have seemed conservative compared to contemporaries like Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg, it reveals complex rhythms and ambitious harmonies, as heard in his spectacular Symphony No. 2 from 1913.