His letters also tell us something about the music he discovered in Mannheim and the works he wrote or performed there. “There were those such as Cannabich with whom he became friends, those from whom he remained distant and those such as Vogler for whom he harboured a certain animosity. “Mozart’s correspondence reveals how he encountered the leading musicians of the Mannheim court orchestra,” he notes. “That’s why we decided to begin our partnership with DG with music created in Mannheim around the time of Mozart’s visit in 1777-78.”ĭr Rüdiger Thomsen-Fürst of the Forschungszentrum Hof | Musik | Stadt in Schwetzingen, an expert on Mannheim’s orchestra and its composers, followed the evidence trail left by Mozart’s letters to his family and used the insights they contain about his relationship with fellow composers and rivals to shape the FBO’s programme. “The Mannheim court of Elector Carl Theodor was famous for its vast orchestra in which the very best instrumentalists of their day played together,” explains Martin Bail, Dramaturge of the FBO. Mozart’s Mannheim presents a variety of orchestral and chamber pieces by Cannabich, Danner, Holzbauer, Toeschi and Vogler – including four world-premiere recordings – as well as two key works composed by Mozart while he was in the city. The southern German city’s legendary court orchestra made it a go-to destination for 18th-century cultural pilgrims and the Freiburger Barockorchester (FBO) has chosen to paint a musical portrait of Mannheim for its debut Deutsche Grammophon album. Mozart’s Mannheim has been carefully curated to give 21st-century listeners an idea of the sound world experienced by Mozart when he visited Mannheim in the late 1770s. Georg Joseph Vogler’s Overture to Der Kaufmann von Smyrna Carl Joseph Toeschi’s Sextet for flute, oboe, violin, viola, bassoon and cello Christian Danner’s Violin Concerto in F major

The album includes no fewer than four world premiere recordings: Mozart’s Mannheim couples little-known gems with works written by Mozart during his formative visit to Mannheim.

The recording captures the spirit of a city whose musical life made a lasting impact on the young Mozart. The Freiburger Barockorchester and Deutsche Grammophon launch their new creative partnership with an album of works associated with the celebrated Mannheim court orchestra

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