Tel Aviv's Toujours Mozart festival offers a wealth of concerts, workshops, and events

The fourth Toujours Mozart festival will open on September 26 in Tel Aviv, offering three days filled with Mozart’s musical magic. Despite the war and the painful news, the festival’s production team decided not to cancel it, believing that music, and Mozart’s work in particular, has the power to heal wounded souls and elevate the spirit.

The festival originated in 1997, spearheaded by Erich Fischer, founder of the International Foundation for the Promotion of Art and Culture in Munich. Fischer envisioned reviving Mozart’s music for audiences of all ages by offering concerts that not only maintain the highest artistic standards but are also accessible to everyone. 

This year, the festival will celebrate Mozart’s 268th birthday over three days, featuring his well-known and lesser-known works brimming with charm and humor. 

“Mozart composed over 800 works. The festival emphasizes the fresh and innovative style he brought to the classical period and the fact that he was one of the most prominent composers of his time,” says Zvi Meniker, the festival’s artistic director.

This is the first time the festival is taking place at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Music Center, offering 27 events over a weekend. 

“Many events are taking place simultaneously,” says Meniker, “including orchestral and chamber concerts, recitals, choral performances, master classes, lessons in ancient dances, and lectures, all centered on the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”

At the core of the festival’s events is the Israeli Mozart Orchestra, an ensemble created specifically for this annual celebration. Comprised of top-tier musicians, the orchestra embodies the essence of Mozart’s era, performing without a conductor, on period instruments, and in a historically authentic style. 

“The orchestra will present various concerts, including the great Symphony in E-Flat Major, K. 543, piano concertos, operatic arias with singers, serenades, and more,” explains Meniker.

The opening concert will showcase Mozart’s monumental Symphony in E-Flat Major, K. 543. This piece is one of the final three great symphonies he composed and remains among the lesser-performed gems of his repertoire. The orchestra will perform the symphony, for the first time, using original instruments from the classical period.

Additionally, the orchestra will play one of the two great concertos Mozart wrote, Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor. This is one of Mozart’s most famous works, often used in films and plays to set the mood.

The festival program also includes a cycle of Mozart’s chamber works featuring piano (trios, quartets, and a quintet), intimate music for piano, violin, and voice; the concert 64 Things – involving the audience – which brings Mozart’s world and that of his contemporaries through different aspects of music, theater, poetry, and social context.

Mozart’s piano

A special emphasis in the festival is given to the piano – Mozart’s main instrument. The piano takes center stage in the At Mozart’s Salon concerts, in the orchestral concerts with no fewer than three piano concertos, and, of course, in the chamber concerts. 

Mozart’s piano was very different from the modern piano: it arrived in Vienna only in 1780, and as such, Mozart’s compositions centered on it represent innovative and exciting music, perfectly expressed with the special instruments for which they were written. 

Mozart’s piano will be showcased in concerts and also in a special workshop called Hammer Piano, where Gili Loftus, Sharon Froschensky, and Zvi Meniker will explain and demonstrate the use of the piano.

“Mozart’s primary instrument., the piano... plays a key role in the chamber concerts,” continues Meniker. “Unlike modern pianos, Mozart’s... compositions he wrote for it are innovative and thrilling, perfectly suited to the unique instruments for which they were created.” 

Additionally, there will be special events, including Dancing with Mozart. 

“It turns out that in addition to his phenomenal composing talent, Mozart was also an avid dancer, and he wrote many musical pieces for dances. In the dance workshop Dancing with Mozart, led by Barbara Leitherer, an expert in historical dances, she will guide the audience in dance and manners from the 18th century.”

Also at the festival are Serenades and Jokes, where students from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, along with the Israeli Mozart Orchestra, will perform Galimathias Musicum (Musical Nonsense), K. 32, and the Serenade in D Major, K. 204 – two works that express Mozart’s humor and charm.

The festival, generously supported by the Erich Fischer Foundation, also brings another unique aspect: concerts under the title “Mozart for All,” featuring performances by amateur ensembles and groups of musicians and singers.

In previous festivals, there was great enthusiasm for these concerts from both performers and the audience, sparking significant excitement due to the direct connection they fostered between the festival and the surrounding community.

“The festival is suitable for everyone,” concludes Meniker, “Even if they have never heard Mozart’s works before, and for classical music lovers of all ages.”

September 26-28. The Municipal Music Center, 10 She’erit Yisrael Street (near Bloomfield Stadium), Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

For tickets: https://did.li/YXTCN

For the festival program: https://did.li/lSaOf