János Czifra, Symphony Orchestra of Liszt Academy & Alma Mater Choir Presented by Liszt Academy

The Liszt Academy’s Alma Mater Choir evokes the musical life of the Salzburg Cathedral. János Czifra, who served as the cathedral’s conductor for 35 years, has compiled a program that brings together works by two Salzburg composers. While Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s musical genius needs little introduction, this concert highlights some of his rarely performed compositions. The opening piece, consisting of soprano arias and choral movements, was discovered after Mozart’s death and only then attributed to him. The evening continues with Luigi Gatti’s Missa Sancti Ruperti, interspersed with two short, single-movement works by Mozart. A contemporary of Haydn, Gatti’s life intersected with the Mozarts’ on two notable occasions: he secured the position of Kapellmeister in Salzburg, a post once sought by the father, Leopold Mozart, and later assisted Nannerl, Mozart’s sister, in locating her deceased brother’s lost compositions. Mozart’s single-movement pieces belong to the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) tradition. In Salzburg, these were performed during Mass – specifically between Kyrie and Gloria and the reading of the Apostolic Letters – earning them the nickname “Epistle Sonatas.”