Arte dei Suonatori / Karol Mossakowski by Mozart, Alates (2023/2023), NOSPR, Katowice, Poland

When Mozart was a child, the face of the world was transformed with the coming of the industrial revolution. Until then, besides clocks, the organ had been among the most complex machinery designed by humankind. The Fantasia in F minor, K. 608, a piece for organ playing thanks to clockwork mechanisms, came to be thanks to Mozart’s meeting the count Joseph Deym, a miscellanea collector. Today, we already know that no automatic work will ever replace a living artist, therefore, the Fantasia has entered organists’ repertoire. They are fond of adapting pieces written for other instruments, even symphonic works, to showcase the entirety of the possibilities offered by “the king of instruments”. Thus, the evening will feature the feather-light Piano Concerto in A major, K. 414 and, even lighter, the Symphony in B flat major, K. 319, as well as the cloudy Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546, contrasting with the foregoing, originating from the time of Mozart’s fascination with Bach’s counterpoint.