Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center - July 27 - August 19-24

Music Director Louis Langree

I love Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.  Now almost 50 years old, this was the first indoor summer music festival in the US and was originally dedicated to all-Mozart programming.  I love that the festival has expanded to include other composers and also welcomes visiting musicians to play along with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. 

While the first three weeks of the festival are wonderful, it's the final week that sizzles (and not just because of the New York City heat). Between August 19 and August 24 ten programs bring together musicians from all over the world, playing the music of Mozart and other Classical composers. Some of the highlights include a special chamber music concert by the celebrated Emerson String Quartet on August 19 at Alice Tully Hall, featuring three Beethoven quartets. One of my favorite musicians, violinist Joshua Bell, returns the next two evenings, with a Tchaikovsky and Mozart program in Avery Fisher Hall. The final two nights of the festival, also in Avery Fisher Hall, showcase the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra playing Mozart’s three most well-known symphonies, Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, Symphony No. 40 in G minor, and No. 41 in C major (“Jupiter”). In my opinion, those are the most amazing evenings of all.  Tickets and information, www.MostlyMozart.org, 212.875.5766.