19. Main Evening Concert

The 22-year-old Mozart wrote this lovely Sonata during his extended stay in Mannheim, a stopping-off point on his ill-fated journey to Paris. Mozart had fallen in love with a beautiful young singer, Aloisia Weber (the elder sister of Constanze, his eventual wife) and came up with a million excuses to avoid the journey to Paris. The Sonata’s slow movement betrays his state of mind. The G major Quartet is the first of his incomparable series that he dedicated to Haydn, a series that showcases the extraordinary possibilities of the string quartet. Here we find Mozart exulting in his ability to create such joyful music. Schumann’s last piano trio comes from a very different place, he was at his prime as a composer but plagued with mental and physical illness. This magnificent Trio was rapturously received by Clara as original and abounding with passion. Tiberghien concludes the concert with the last work Schumann wrote, a set of variations for Clara followed by throwing himself into the Rhine such was his desperation.