The Philharmonic Theatre – a series of theatre concerts that include reading of famous composers’ letters – opens on Thursday, 27 October at 7pm, at the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall. The first concert is dedicated to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose letters will be read by actors Tamara Krcunović and Vladimir Aleksić, while the BPO musicians will be performing the selected pieces of the great composer. The theatre concert dedicated to Mozart, his works and the spirit of the time when they were created, is produced by Vlatko Ilić.
 
Inspired by Mozart’s music, his letters to his father, sister, wife, friends and the people who could help him, the actors fill the stage with scenes dedicated to Mozart – the person who is perpetually fighting for conditions in which he could live and create faithful to his own convictions. The Belgrade Philharmonic String Quartet, together with their fellow musicians gathered in a chamber ensemble, will perform pieces corresponding to the time and atmosphere of the selected letters and stylistically reflecting various periods of Mozart’s music.
 
“Exploring Mozart, or any other eminent figure in the history of mankind, is never limited solely to studying authentic materials – in this case his music and letters; it also includes how the person is understood and represented. As a result, Mozart is nowadays also a model wunderkind, just like Forman’s Amadeus, as well as the face on the wrapping of the famous Mozartkugeln all around Vienna and Austria, while the manner in which we approach the material reveals more about us and our time than about Mozart, if this sort of perspective is even considered”, said Vlatko Ilić.
 
Concurrently with the regular concert season, we are developing the chamber scene of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. In this season, the Philharmonic Theatre combines the arts of theatre and music into a single distinctive performance. By correlating the composers’ correspondence with the people they were close with, on the one hand, and the music they wrote, on the other, we are creating an intimate new genre – the theatre concert, a new work that combines music and words. The next reading is scheduled on 1 December, focusing on Tchaikovsky’s music and correspondence.