Our first programs of 2016 are devoted to two musical geniuses – Mozart and Gershwin. Although born in different centuries and countries, and with completely opposite family circumstances, their timeless music continues
to inspire and enthrall. The child prodigy Mozart and the young Gershwin (cited by some music historians as the “American Mozart”) both possessed the gift of melodic inspiration and dramatic intent that communicates so
directly to audiences of all ages. The two works of Mozart on today’s program were written while he was still a mere teenager in his native Salzburg. The Gershwin Piano Concerto, written while he was still in his twenties, was a ground-breaking work that combined jazz elements into the traditional three movement musical
structure for piano and orchestra. As both of these youthful geniuses died while in their thirties, we are left to wonder what great compositions were still to come.
