Fortepiano Ensemble (IT)
Michele Bolla: fortepiano
Paolo Faldi: classical oboe
Luca Lucchetta: classical clarinet
Elisa Bognetti: classical horn
Stefano Sopranzi: classical bassoon
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Mozart and Beethoven for fortepiano and winds. Masterpieces resounding on original 18th-century instruments. A rare opportunity to experience the true sound palette of the Viennese Classical masters.
Primal
Artists’ message to visitors:
The fortepiano was first built by the Italian maker Bartolomeo Cristofori. Initially, the instrument did not appeal much to musicians, who continued to prefer the harpsichord. However, in the second half of the eighteenth century, the fortepiano underwent many mechanical improvements, and composers and performers began to embrace it, writing music specifically for the instrument. Mozart loved both the fortepiano and the harpsichord, but he found new inspiration in this relatively new instrument, composing many masterpieces: sonatas, sonatas with other instruments, solo concertos with orchestra, and unique works such as the K. 452 for fortepiano and four wind instruments. This composition remained a unique example until Beethoven created other masterpieces for the same ensemble. Dear visitors, you have the privilege of hearing a very special composition, performed by a very special ensemble on period instruments—some of which are authentic eighteenth-century instruments, such as the horn, clarinet, and bassoon.
Our artistic mission:
The original repertoire for this ensemble is rather limited. Other works can be found from the early nineteenth century by German composers such as Franz Danzi, the Bohemian composer Josef Mysliveček, and several other Kapellmeisters from Bohemian courts, spanning from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. Most of them were wind players and also played the harpsichord. The mission of the ensemble is to discover (or rediscover) ancient compositions—by both well-known and lesser-known composers—for wind instruments and fortepiano. We are convinced that many unknown works by European composers are preserved in libraries across Europe (e.g., Kroměříž, Regensburg, Leipzig), simply waiting to be played again. In addition to making these compositions known, the ensemble also aims to revive the special sound of this unique instrumental combination.
Welcome !
Event programme
Keys in the wind
Quintets for fortepiano and wind instruments are very rare in the history of music. The earliest surviving composition is the quintet by W. A. Mozart, and even in the 19th century, only a few composers wrote for this special kind of ensemble (such as Rimsky-Korsakov). In the Classical period, only Mozart, Beethoven, and Danzi composed works for fortepiano and wind quartet. At the end of the 18th century, wind instruments began to change structurally, developing a different sound and melodic character compared to the wind instruments of the Baroque era. New instruments like the clarinet were increasingly used in orchestras, and many solo concertos were composed for them. Horn makers began to add valves to the instrument, although the "natural" horn remained in use until the time of Brahms. The bassoon and oboe followed a different and very complex development but essentially remained unchanged until the mid-19th century.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791):
QUINTUOR Concertant pour Piano Forte Hautboi Clarinette, Cor & Basson Composé par W.A.MOZART (K 452)
Largo / Moderato / Larghetto / Rondon Allegretto
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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1872)
GRAND QUINTETTO pour le Forte-Piano avec Oboe, Clarinette, Basson et Coro u Violon Alto et Violoncelle composé et dedié A Son Altesse Monseigneur le Prince Regnant de Schwarzenberg &.&. par LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN Oeuvre 16.
Grave / Allegro ma non troppo / Andante Cantabile / Rondò allegro, ma non troppo
The programme includes two great masterpieces written for this special ensemble (fortepiano, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon) by two great masters of the Viennese style: the Quintet K. 452 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Quintet Op. 16 by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Mozart composed this work for a concert at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 April 1784. The programme, in addition to the "new grand Quintet" performed by "Mr. Mozart", also included three symphonies (among them K. 425, the “Linz”), a "new concerto on the fortepiano" (probably K. 451, played and conducted by the composer), three arias (one sung by "M.lle Cavalieri") and an improvisation. The concert was a splendid success, especially for the quintet: in a letter dated 10 April, Mozart enthusiastically described the work's reception to his father, calling it “the best thing I have written in my life so far [...] I wish you could have heard it too; and what a splendid performance! To tell the truth, I was exhausted at the end from all the playing – and it's no small honour that my listeners never got tired.”
This judgement is confirmed by the fact that Mozart selected this piece for a private performance in the presence of Giovanni Paisiello, organized on 10 June in Döbling, a suburb of Vienna. That he chose to present this unusual work to such a prominent figure shows the high regard in which Mozart held the Quintet K. 452.
Critics also unanimously consider this unique composition a pinnacle in Mozart’s output and a true turning point in chamber music with piano. Massin calls it a “masterpiece of balance between chamber music and concerto style,” Abert emphasizes its “extraordinary tension,” Halbreich describes it as “a perfect example of concertante dialogue,” and for Bernhard Paumgartner, “it remains to this day the noblest example of chamber music for wind instruments.”
Following a grand introductory Largo, the mood shifts suddenly with the Allegro moderato, introduced by the fortepiano in a soft dynamic and sharply punctuated by the wind instruments in forte. The musical dialogue intensifies in the second theme, distributed between the keyboard and the winds, continuing seamlessly with brilliant passages, virtuosic writing, richly textured choral moments, animated rhythms, and lively interplay between the instruments. This vitality softens in the Larghetto, described by Abert as a “romantic reverie full of magical sonic beauty,” which forms the emotional centre of the entire work. The first theme, presented by the oboe, horn, and bassoon, has a pastoral quality and transitions effortlessly into a new theme introduced by the piano, clarinet, and oboe, followed by a remarkable variety of secondary ideas. Here, Mozart explores daring harmonic paths, culminating in a modulation to the distant key of E minor (from the home key of B-flat major). The final Rondo (Allegretto), exuberant and rich in colour, brings the quintet close in style to Mozart’s piano concertos composed that same year (K. 449, 450, 451, 453, 456, 459), which he himself performed to great acclaim. This is a virtuosic and extroverted movement, filled with beautiful thematic ideas, which—after a cadenza played in tempo—concludes gently and quietly.
Beethoven composed his Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn in E-flat major, Op. 16, between 1794 and 1797. The earliest sketches date from his 1796 tour, which took him north in March, then to Dresden in April, and finally to Berlin. During his stay in Berlin, Beethoven composed the Cello Sonata Op. 5, the Variations WoO 45 for piano and cello on a theme from Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus, sketches for the Piano Concerto Op. 37, and most of the Quintet Op. 16. He completed the work only after returning to Vienna in early 1797. It was published in 1801 and dedicated to Prince Schwarzenberg.
The first performance took place on 6 April 1797 at one of the “Academies” organized by Ignaz Schuppanzigh, a fine violinist and member of Prince Rasumovsky’s Quartet, often led by Beethoven himself. The Quintet Op. 16 is considered one of the finest works of Beethoven’s early period. The influence of Mozart is evident throughout; many scholars regard the piece as a tribute to him.
Indeed, the thematic material in all three main movements (the Grave serving as an introduction) recalls Mozart's arias: the Allegro theme echoes the first aria in The Magic Flute, the Andante evokes Zerlina’s aria from Don Giovanni, and the Rondo bears clear resemblance to Papageno’s aria. Not only does the quintet contain thematic references, but it also radiates a mood of serenity, joy, and elegance—what one might call a "Mozartian" spirit.
Particularly notable are the second movement (Andante cantabile), tender and lyrical, structured as a set of variations, and the Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo), reminiscent of the finales of Mozart’s piano concertos, marked by its interplay of light and shadow.
Beethoven loved performing this quintet, which clearly represented a moment of creative ease and happiness for him. Perhaps to extend the pleasure of performing it, he also arranged it for piano and string trio (violin, viola, and cello), though in doing so he inevitably sacrificed some of the original’s distinctive timbral charm—so closely tied to the soft, velvety tone of the wind instruments.
Celje, Narodni dom
The neo-renaissance building of the Narodni dom (literally the Nation's Home) lines a part of the Trg celjskih knezov (The Counts of Celje Square). It was built in 1895-1896 according to the plans of the Czech architect Vladimir Hrasky. During the time of the old Austria, the Celje National House was the cultural and social center of the citizens of Celje, and today it houses the premises of the Municipality of Celje and the Administrative Unit of Celje.
