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| LA Phil’s Mostly Mozart Festival | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mostly Mozart Festival |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Genre | Classical music, chamber music, orchestral |
| Organizer | Los Angeles Philharmonic |
LA Phil’s Mostly Mozart Festival The Mostly Mozart Festival is an annual summer classical music series produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art complex and other venues in Los Angeles. Founded in 1986, the festival foregrounds works associated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart alongside repertoire from the Classical period and adjacent eras, drawing soloists, conductors, and ensembles from international stages such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Teatro alla Scala, and Konzerthaus Vienna. The festival functions as a nexus linking historic repertory, contemporary commissions, and community engagement through collaborations with institutions like the University of Southern California and the California Institute of the Arts.
The festival was inaugurated in 1986 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to create a summertime focal point for Mozart-related programming, following precedents set by festivals such as the Aldeburgh Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Early seasons featured directors and music directors who had ties to institutions like the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and showcased artists affiliated with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Concertgebouw Orchestra. Over decades the festival adapted to leadership changes at the Walt Disney Concert Hall era and periods when the Philharmonic collaborated with guest directors from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Major anniversaries have been marked by thematic programs linked to composers including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, and contemporary figures like John Adams.
Programming centers on works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart—operas, concertos, symphonies—paired with pieces from Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn. The festival frequently presents chamber music drawn from the legacies of the Guarneri Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, and ensembles such as Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and The English Concert. Contemporary commissions have included pieces by Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Adams, Jennifer Higdon, and Thomas Adès, often programmed beside canonical works by Franz Liszt, Richard Strauss, and Igor Stravinsky. Special thematic cycles have explored intersections with opera repertory—featuring composers like Mozart alongside Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti—and cross-genre collaborations with artists connected to Hollywood Bowl, LA Opera, and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
The festival has hosted distinguished conductors and soloists from institutions including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Guest conductors have included Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, Leonard Slatkin, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Sir Antonio Pappano. Soloists and chamber musicians have ranged from Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang to period-specialists like Christopher Hogwood and John Eliot Gardiner. Vocal appearances have featured artists associated with Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Teatro alla Scala, including Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Diana Damrau, and Barbara Hannigan.
Primary performances occur at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's performance spaces, with outdoor events historically staged at the Hollywood Bowl and neighborhood settings across Downtown Los Angeles and Westwood. The festival has also utilized halls connected to University of Southern California, CalArts, and collaborations with sites like The Broad and Grand Park. International-style residencies have mirrored practices at the Salzburg Festival and the Aldeburgh Festival, while touring components have linked the festival to venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Educational programs connect with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's youth outreach, partnering with organizations like the Colburn School, LA County Office of Education, and neighborhood music programs in South Los Angeles and East Los Angeles. Initiatives include side-by-side concerts, masterclasses with artists from the Juilliard School and Royal Academy of Music, and workshops modeled on conservatory training at USC Thornton School of Music and UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Community engagement has involved collaborations with cultural institutions such as the Getty Center, California African American Museum, and local public libraries to broaden access to classical repertory.
Live recordings and broadcasts have been issued on labels and platforms linked to Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Warner Classics, and public media partners like KUSC, BBC Radio 3, and NPR. Video productions and streaming initiatives have featured collaborations with LA Phil Media, resulting in commercial releases and digital presentations that mirror production values seen in broadcasts from BBC Proms and Medici.tv. Archival recordings reflect performances by ensembles connected to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and guest orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Critical reception has paralleled assessments in publications and critics associated with The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Gramophone (magazine), and BBC Music Magazine. Reviews often emphasize the festival's interpretations of Mozart and its balance between historical performance practice—advocated by figures like Nikolaus Harnoncourt—and modern orchestral approaches championed by conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Audience response has ranged from praise for virtuosity and programming innovation to debate over repertoire scope, mirroring discussions in institutions like the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic about tradition and renewal.
Category:Music festivals in Los Angeles Category:Classical music festivals