Lectures, Interviews, & Concerts

The Music Division has supported and facilitated many performances of Mozart's music as well as scholarship focused on it. These materials have been shared and made available on the Library's website as part of the Event Videos Collection. Many of these lectures, interviews, and concerts include music for which the Music Division holds Mozart's manuscript scores or sketches. See the "Music Manuscripts" section of this research guide.

Music Division staff have both presented and facilitated lectures on Mozart and his music. These lectures have been shared and made available on the Library's website as part of the Event Videos Collection. Some of these lectures are linked below.

Featured Lecture

David Plylar discusses the piano trios by Mozart, Shostakovich and Dvořák, in a lecture given before a performance of the works by the Tetzlaff-Tetzlaff-Vogt Trio at the Library of Congress. Specific works discussed include Mozart's B-flat major piano trio, K.502, Shostakovich's second piano trio in E minor, op. 67, and Dvořák's third piano trio in F minor, op. 65. (Event date: May 4, 2019)

More Lectures

Americans' Forgotten Love Affair with Opera
Scholar Katherine Preston looks at the prevalence of English-language opera productions in the United States in the 19th century (and the women who were the managers of many companies), and debunks the myth that only the elite attended operatic productions. Much of the preliminary research for this talk was done at the Library of Congress, utilizing its stellar collection of American music periodicals from 1860-1900. This lecture was presented as part of the ongoing American Musicological Society lecture series at the Library of Congress. (Event date: April 16, 2019)

Often as part of the yearly concert series, Music Division staff have interviewed performers of Mozart's music. These events have been shared and made available on the Library's website as part of the Event Videos Collection. Some of these interviews are linked below.

Featured Interview

A pre-concert conversation with the St. Lawrence String Quartet before their October 24, 2014, concert, in which they performed Mozart's String Quintet in G minor, KV 516. (Event date: October 24, 2014)

More Interviews

Artist Encounter: Kristian Bezuidenhout, Fortepiano
Following a fortepiano performance at the Library, keyboardist Kristian Bezuidenhout speaks with David Plylar about several treasures in the collection, including Mozart's Violin Sonata in G major, K.379, Haydn's Capriccio in G major, H.XVII:1, Haydn's Sonata in E-flat, H.XVI:52, and Beethoven's Sonata in E major, op.109. (Event date: October 27, 2016)
Camerata Ireland: Pre-Concert Discussion
Founder and pianist Barry Douglas of Camerata Ireland discusses works by Carter, Mozart and Beethoven as part of the Rediscover Northern Ireland Program cosponsored by the Library's Music Division and American Folklife Center along with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure/Arts Council of Northern Ireland. (Event date: March 23, 2007)
Conversation with Richard Egarr
The Library's Anne McLean speaks with Richard Egarr, keyboardist and conductor, prior to his concert. They discuss the history of several manuscripts in the Library's collection, including Peri's Euridice, Handel's Acis and Galatea, and Mozart's Concerti cembalo, K. 238 (1767), a manuscript from the Gertrude Clarke Whittall collection. They discuss Egarr's approach to performance practice and artistic decision-making processes while recording Bach's French Suites, BVW 812-817, which he had released the previous year. (Event date: April 10, 2017)
Conversation with the Artemis Quartet
Members of the Artemis Quartet discuss their program of music by Mozart, Shostakovich and Schumann, the history of the group, and the genre in general. (Event date: April 6, 2018)

Many concerts presented as part of "Concerts from the Library of Congress" include Mozart's music. These concerts have been shared and made available on the Library's website as part of the Concerts from the Library of Congress Collection. Some of these concerts are linked below.

Featured Concert

In the first of two concerts prepared for the Library of Congress, the MET Orchestra Musicians presents a varied program of chamber music, including Mozart's Serenade No. 10 for winds in B-flat major [Gran Partita], K. 361/370a. (Event date: June 4, 2021)

More Concerts

"The President's Own" United States Marine Band
A survey of music for wind ensemble that includes some of the great composers for winds, such as Stravinsky and Mozart, with music by Oliver Knussen's colleagues Carter and Lieberson. Elliott Carter's "Wind Rose" was composed at Knussen's suggestion, and the world premiere was delivered with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in London in 2008. The program includes Sibelius/Stravinsky "Canzonetta, op. 62a," Schuller "Double Quintet," Lieberson "Wind Messengers," Stravinsky "Symphonies of Wind Instruments" (1920 version), Carter "Wind Rose" (dedicated to Knussen) and Mozart "Serenade in B-flat major for winds, KV. 361." (Event date: April 12, 2014)
Chiara String Quartet with Simone Dinnerstein
The Chiara String Quartet performs on the Library's Stradivari instruments, joining forces with pianist Simone Dinnerstein to commemorate the centennial of American composer Irving Fine with works by Mozart, Fine and a Library of Congress commission by Jefferson Friedman. (Event date: December 5, 2014)
Conrad Tao and Caleb Teicher Performance Summary
Pianist and composer Conrad Tao joins forces with tap dancer and choreographer Caleb Teicher in a brilliant recital of music and dance, both composed and improvised. Each artist earns raves for electric performances. In this program, their debut as a duo, their collaboration is astonishing, with an intriguing music mix and an impressive range of style and mood. Teicher's comment captures the essence of their collaboration: "It's hard to sense where the music starts and the dancing ends, or where the dancing starts and the music ends. They're just one." The program includes David Parker, choreographer: "Song and Dance," based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sonata in A major: III. "Alla Turca," K. 331 [28:07]. (October 23, 2020)
Curtis Chamber Orchestra
Robert Spano leads the Curtis Chamber Orchestra in an exclusive Washington, D.C. appearance. Violist Roberto Díaz premieres a new concerto by Jennifer Higdon, commissioned by the Library of Congress and the Curtis Institute, and Spano puts on his composer hat for a performance of his Hölderlin-Lieder. The orchestra rounds out the program with works by Prokofiev and Mozart. (Event date: March 7, 2015)
Juilliard String Quartet
Featured on the concert program were Schubert's "Quartettsatz" in C minor, D. 703, Elliott Carter's String Quartet no. 1, Beethoven's String Quartet in F major, op. 135, and the "Andante cantabile" from Mozart's String Quartet in C major, K. 465 ("Dissonance"). This concert by the Juilliard String Quartet was the final appearance at the Library by retiring cellist Joel Krosnick. (Event date: February 27, 2016)
Kwuon, Smirnoff, Robinson, Babayan Concert
Violinist Joan Kwuon leads a quartet of distinguished world-class players from the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music. The program featured Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478 and Brahms' Piano Quartet no. 1 in G minor, op. 25. (Event date: March 21, 2014)
Schumann Trio
The Schumann Trio plays works of Mozart (Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498, "Kegelstatt"), Zwilich (Romance for Violin and Piano, Library of Congress commission), Marchenerzahlungen (Op. 132) and Brahms (Clarinet Trio in A minor, op. 114, arranged for viola by Michael Tree). (Event date: March 3, 2011)
St. Lawrence String Quartet with Hsin-Yun Huang
The St. Lawrence String Quartet is joined by violist Hsin-Yun Huang for the Library's annual Stradivari Anniversary Concert. The program includes Erwin Schulhoff's "Five Pieces for String Quartet," Mozart's String Quintet in G minor, KV 516, and Beethoven's String Quartet in C-sharp minor, op. 131. (December 18, 2014)
WindSync Concert
Houston-based woodwind quintet WindSync performs the world premiere of Paul Lansky's "The Long and Short of It," a Library of Congress co-commission. Also on the program are Reicha's Quintet in E-flat major op. 88 no. 2, the "Adagio" from Mozart's Serenade in B-flat major K. 361, Barber's "Summer Music" op. 31 and "Chaconne" from David Maslanka's Quintet for Winds no. 2. (Event date: October 24, 2015)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Guide to Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress

Performing Arts: Ask a Librarian