Magnificently Mozart at Alice Tully Hall

Artistic Director and Founder Thomas Crawford leads the American Classical Orchestra (ACO), New York City’s leading period instrument orchestra, in the final concert of its 40th anniversary season at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 pm. The performance offers two of Mozart’s early works: his iconic Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major with ACO Principal Bassoonist Andrew Schwartz, as well as the composer’s “Haffner” Symphony No. 35. In addition, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4—the only classical-era concerto to start with a piano solo—will be performed by acclaimed fortepianist Petra Somlai.

Magnificently Mozart
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 7:30 pm at Alice Tully Hall
American Classical Orchestra
Thomas Crawford, conductor
Andrew Schwartz, bassoon
Petra Somlai, fortepiano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symphony No. 35 in D Major, “Haffner”
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58

The program opens with Mozart’s Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, written in 1774 when he was 18 years old. One of the most famous and studied bassoon pieces of all time, it was Mozart’s first concerto for wind instruments, especially prized for emphasizing the instrument’s sweet tenor voice. The soloist is ACO and Handel and Haydn Society Principal Bassoonist Andrew Schwartz, whose career has taken him from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra to jazz recordings with Wynton Marsalis. The Concerto is followed by Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, also known as the “Haffner.” The work was commissioned by Sigmund Haffner, a wealthy Salzburg merchant and friend of Mozart’s father, Leopold. Haffner asked if Wolfgang could compose a new symphony to be played at the ennoblement of his son. The symphony was completed when Mozart was 26 years old and first performed in 1783 at the Vienna Burgtheater. The evening concludes with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, which offers a lyrical conversation between piano and orchestra that demonstrates Beethoven’s power of invention. The work premiered with the composer at the keyboard in 1808 in a four-hour-long program that included the premieres of his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The concerto was neglected until it was revived by Felix Mendelssohn in 1836, nine years after Beethoven’s death. The performance features renowned Hungarian fortepianist Petra Somlai, professor at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and first prize-winner at the International Fortepiano Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35, are available at aconyc.org; by calling ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4; at lincolncenter.org or the Alice Tully Hall box office; or by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500.