Only sixteen Lieder (songs for voice and piano) survive from Alma Mahler's vast output, as her husband Gustav curtailed her publication efforts. Five poem-based works evoke love—intoxicating, intimate, infinite, and reflective of loves' past. Gustav's initially panned Symphony No. 1 employs musical imagery akin to a song cycle, interpreting nature's joys and sorrows.

Brahms' vibrant and lively Hungarian Dances were inspired by the cherished traditional heritage of a long-time friend. Schumann's passionate Fourth Symphony, emblematic of his joyful marriage to Clara, languished for ten long years before final publication. Grieg's heroic Piano Concerto shines with rich Norwegian folk melodies, virtuosic cadenzas, and majestic flourishes.

Our Mozart Festival opens with the "Prague" Symphony No. 38, composed on the heels of The Marriage of Figaro's tremendous success. Rich in complex subtleties and lyrical sophistication, it spans a full spectrum of emotion. Mozart's unfinished "Great" Mass in C minor—his most exalted and personal work—was deeply influenced by the Baroque traditions of Bach and Handel. Its original movements journey from somber to soaring, with later 20th-century revisions completing the piece.

Continuing our Mozart Festival, enjoy works by two peers: Joseph Bologne's jaunty Symphony No. 2 and Maria Theresia von Paradis's Overture to The School Candidate, her sole surviving orchestral piece, in commedia dell'arte form. Mozart's five violin concertos, composed in 1775, culminate in a Fifth that is imaginative and technically challenging. The fiery "Haffner" Symphony, honoring a former Salzburg patron, is bold and regal.