Mozart in Prague

Now a small treat for our listeners it's a special anniversary for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Nicole Klement has the story.

This week marks the 215th anniversary of the first time Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited the city of Prague. In the course of Mozart's life, three cities were of particular importance. The first was Salzburg the town where he was born. The second was the imperial capital of Vienna where he experienced great professional success and the third city, was Prague. Though not the cultural epicentre that Vienna was at the time, Prague had a great appreciation for Mozart's compositions. His operas triumphed in Prague where his work was played to packed stage houses. He fell in love with Prague claiming that "The Prague people understand me".

In 1787 Mozart visited Prague twice. His fist visit was to attend and conduct the performance of "Le Nozze di Figaro(1786)" the "Wedding of Figaro" which was taking Prague by storm. That same year, in appreciation of the city's warm welcome, Mozart composed "The Opera of Operas" Don Giovanni especially for Prague, where he personally conducted its world premiere in 1787 at the Estates Theatre in Prague. He travelled to Prague three times and his last visit was for the premiere of "La clemenza di Tito" (1791), a traditional opera written for coronation celebrations, but composed with the finesse and energy characteristic of Mozart's late music. Mozart composed a number of pieces for Prague, which are valued by music lovers until this day.