{oh!} Orkiestra / Pastuszka / Waltham / North of Vienna - NOSPR

The music of Jakub Gołąbek is closely associated with Kraków’s most famous monuments: he first served in the ensemble of St Mary’s Church before joining the cathedral chapel on the Wawel Hill. Among his surviving works, symphonies are the most numerous. In them, Baroque influences merge with Classical forms, offering a striking testimony to the shaping of the Classical style in Polish music. His Symphony in D major and Symphony in C major will be performed here alongside two symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both in the same key of A major.

These compositions were written only three years apart, yet they clearly demonstrate just how rapidly the style of young Mozart developed, as he absorbed musical influences during his extensive travels across Europe. Symphony No 14, written in the graceful galant style, followed soon after the fifteen-year-old composer’s journey to Italy. Symphony No 29 was composed a year after his trip to Vienna, where he encountered the music of Joseph Haydn, which exerted a significant influence upon him.

The programme also includes Karl Mysligowski’s Cello Concerto, although reliable information about this composer remains elusive. What survives are facsimiles of a handful of works for cello, held in the collections of the University Library in Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Once again, under the baton of Martyna Pastuszka, the ensemble will bring a score back from oblivion, enabling us to gain a clearer understanding of the soundscape not only of Europe’s major capitals, but also of places far closer to home.

Szymon Maliszewski

Concert duration (intermission included): approximately 100 minutes