Giovanni Antonini conducts Mysliveček, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven — With Magdalena Kožená

The great Giovanni Antonini leads the Czech Philharmonic in a Classical-era vocal and symphonic feast from Dvořák Hall in Prague, featuring the talents of magnificent Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená! They open with excerpts from the opera L'Olimpiade by Josef Mysliveček, a largely (unjustly) forgotten 18th-century composer who made his name in Italy (where they called him "Il Boemo," the Bohemian) and whose music may remind you of his close friend W.A. Mozart. Wolfgang's Don Giovanni and Idomeneo provide Kožená's next showcases, followed by one of "Papa" Haydn's most enchanting concert arias, the Scena di Berenice. Later, maestro Antonini — one of our foremost experts in historically informed performance practice — leads the Czech Philharmonic in Beethoven's exquisite "Pastoral" Symphony No. 6, as soul-elevating as a walk in a sunny meadow (with a storm or two to keep us on our toes).

Photo © Petr Chodura