Musician’s Note: Utah Symphony premiers Mozart’s First Violin Concerto

Out of five violin concertos Mozart wrote, Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 is the only one that has not been performed by the Utah Symphony. So, next week will be a Utah Symphony premiere! One can get an idea what a prodigy Mozart was from this piece (which he wrote at age 17). Also, I have written my own cadenzas for this concerto.

Cadenzas are not usually written by the composers, but rather by other renowned musicians so there are usually multiple versions of a concerto cadenza. I looked at some for the Mozart Concerto 1, and I thought I could do something comparable. This will be my debut writing my own cadenza. It is exciting playing this piece for the first time (being played by the Utah Symphony for the first time), and playing my cadenza for the first time.

Also on the program will be the ever popular Mozart’s Haffner Symphony and Haydn’s Farewell Symphony, the two monumental figures of the Classical Period. May 14th will be the only performance, and it will be a rare event. I hope to see you there!