Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giordano Bellincampi.
Giordano Bellincampi conducts the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Photo: Adrian Malloch
Around the 1780’s, a recent artistic trend in Vienna focused on the Ottoman Empire. Just a century before, Vienna had been attacked by the Turks, and unusually, music, art, clothing, and other arts were influenced by the Near East. One of Mozart’s contributions to this fad was his opera “The Abduction from the Seraglio”.
It’s a comic opera about captives who try to escape from a Turkish harem, and Mozart uses the alla Turca style inspired by the sounds of Turkish military bands. The Overture sets the scene and lends spice with its use of percussion instruments to evoke the exotic Ottoman Empire.
Recorded by RNZ Concert, Auckland Town Hall, 24 February 2022
Producer: Tim Dodd
Engineer: Adrian Hollay
