Mozart's Grand Tour

Donald Macleod follows Mozart and his family on an ambitious European adventure.

When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was just seven years old, he and his family set out on an epic journey. Their goal: to travel through Europe and become famous; bringing their awesomely talented children to concert halls, homes and royal palaces across Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands and Switzerland. At the start of their trip, young Wolfgang could already perform and improvise better than most adults. By the time they returned home, three and a half years later, he’d grown into a fully-fledged composer of sonatas, symphonies and arias. This week, Donald Macleod accompanies the Mozart family on their musical marathon and invites us to follow their many scrapes and adventures.

Music Featured:

Allegro in F major, K 1c Exsultate, jubilate, K 165, 1. Exsultate, jubilate Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Viola and Cello in F Major, K 370 Misericordias Domini in D Minor, K 222 Violin Concerto No 4 in D major, K 218 Symphony in C, K 208/102, (1st mvt) Allegro in C Major, K 6 Piano Concerto No 17 in G major, K 453 (2nd mvt) Mass in C, K 317 'Coronation Mass' (Credo & Agnus Dei) Violin Sonata No 1 in C Major, K 6 Sonata No 14, K 29 (1st mvt) Divertimento in F, K 138 Va, dal furor portata, K 21 Symphony No 1 in E flat major, K 16 Flute Sonata in C major, K 14 Violin Sonata No 8 in F major, K 13 (1st mvt) String Quartet No. 3 in G major, K 156 (2nd mvt) Sonata for Piano duet in C major, K 521 (2nd & 3rd mvts) Symphony No 4 in D major, K 19 Mass in C minor, K 427 'Great': (VI Qui tollis; VII Quoniam; VIII Jesu Christe) Symphony No 7a in G, K Anh 221 (K45a) 'Alte Lambacher': (3rd mvt) Gallimathias musicum K 32 (excerpts) Piano Sonata No 16 in C, K 545 Violin Sonata in C, K 28 Symphony No 5 in B flat, K 22 Clarinet Concerto in A, K 622 (2nd & 3rd mvts)

Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales and West

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Mozart's Grand Tour https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xmlr

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z