Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20

The young conductor and pianist Lahav Shani, who is not yet thirty, has already performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he first guest-performed in 2016. Now it has also been established that he will succeed the legendary Zubin Mehta as chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he will assume in 2020.

Because he is also a masterful pianist, he often combines conducting with performing as a soloist himself, in this case in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. It is one of Mozart’s most performed and beloved concertos, composed in his much-discussed demonic key, D minor.

We will also see Lahav Shani lead the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in an overture by Louise Farrenc, a prominent name from the French music scene of the nineteenth century. She wrote around fifty works, around 40 of which were published and performed all over Europe. In conclusion, we will hear Joseph Haydn’s masterful final symphony, number 104, music which was a success when it first premiered at the King’s Theatre in London in spring 1795. For well over two hundred years, it has retained its lustre and attractiveness among concert audiences.