Julia Lezhneva sings Haydn and Beethoven

In 1774, Haydn composed the incidental music for the comedy Le distrait by Jean-François Renard, a play that tells the story of a man so absent-minded that he almost forgets his own wedding. The protagonist's memory troubles are musically evoked in the finale, which, after a passage played with great assurance, must be interrupted because the strings have forgotten to tune. This humorous music brought Haydn such success that he later decided to draw inspiration from this stage music to compose his Symphony No. 60 – a work in six movements that some consider the funniest symphony in music history.

Afterwards, the renowned Russian soprano Julia Leshneva, famous for her crystalline and angelic voice and impeccable vocal mastery, interprets two arias. La Scena de Berenice was custom-written for the legendary singer Brigida Giorgi Banti by Haydn, with text by the poet Metastasio. Around the same time, Beethoven – who, unlike Haydn, was still at the beginning of his career – composed the aria Ah! perfido. These two arias, with their intense dramatic intensity, evoke a woman abandoned by her lover.

Mozart's Symphony No. 41 undoubtedly embodies the pinnacle of symphonic genius. The power and bold treatment of the work's themes earned it the nickname Jupiter. The final movement of this symphony masterfully combines baroque five-voice fugue with classical gallant style, making it unquestionably one of the most successful pages in the orchestral repertoire.

Created with the support of the Belgian Tax Shelter through Casa Kafka Pictures.