A One-Act Concert for Little Ones

Soft rugs will be waiting in the first-floor foyer for those who come to listen to one part of the educational concert “Little Mozart,” and we invite you to make yourselves comfortable on them together with your little ones up to three years old. We strive to ensure that everyone at this concert not only feels comfortable but also has a great time. Some will be able to listen quietly to the music and the stories about it told by Monika Longo, a musician and educator with the KVMT Symphony Orchestra, while safely nestled in the arms of their parents or guardians. Others might dare to explore the new theater environment on all fours or standing up. Still others might look for new friends or even rush to help the KVMT Symphony Orchestra musicians playing in the quartet.

We have no doubt that when you attend the “Little Mozart” concert, you’ll be amazed at how quickly even babies and toddlers learn to appreciate classical music and respond to it by trying to move to the rhythm of the music, and joining in with the musicians’ live performances with joyful squeals, babbling, or melodious cooing. The usual rules of conduct for classical music concerts do not apply to the audience at this concert, but this in no way affects the quality of the program or the musical performance: we strive to captivate the attention of our young audience with masterpieces of the highest-quality classical music, performed by professional musicians.

As we know from the history of music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756–1791) was only five years old when he began composing music on his own—he learned to read musical notation before he could read and write letters. By the age of six, he was already performing as a virtuoso soloist at the imperial court, playing not only the harpsichord and organ but also the violin and viola with great skill. At the age of seven, together with his father Leopold and his older sister Maria Anna (Nanerle), he set out on his first concert tour of Europe; at the age of ten he composed his first opera, and three years later, as a teenager, he was appointed Kapellmeister—conductor of the orchestra—at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg, his native Austrian city. Because of his exceptional musical talent at such a young age, he was called a wunderkind—“a child prodigy.” The concert features excerpts from the First String Quartet, composed by the 14-year-old at the Salzburg court, and the Divertimento, written when he was 16, as well as the famous Minuet composed around the same time by the Italian composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805). Mozart admired this composer in his youth. We will also hear three movements from Mozart’s popular serenade for strings, *A Little Night Music*, composed when he was in his thirties, as well as a dance—the contradance *The Battle*—written for orchestra. Although the composer’s star was destined to fade just a few years later, even this music of his sounds extraordinarily clear, simple, and sincere.

Research conducted by scientists shows that listening to classical music—and Mozart’s works in particular—has a positive impact on children’s achievements and promotes the development of young children with congenital disorders or disabilities. Melodies composed by Mozart have long been recognized by music therapy and psychology specialists as not only educational but also therapeutic. So we invite the whole family—parents, grandparents, and caregivers—along with their wonderful little ones—to their first encounter with classical music. Experience the magical, healing power of music, which awakens even the most unexpected abilities in little ones!

PROGRAMME

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756–1791) “
” Movement II: Andante and Movement III: Presto from the Divertimento for Strings in D Major, K. 136 (1772)
Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G Major, “A Little Night Music,” KV 525 (1787)

I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegreto

Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743–1805)
Minuet and Trio from the String Quintet in E-major, Op. 11, No. 5, G 275 (1771)

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756–1791)
Contradance in C major (“The Battle”), K. 535 (1788)
Minuet from String Quartet No. 1 in G major, K. 80 (1770–1773)