Mozart and Beethoven
Ensemble Zefiro (Italy)
Artistic director Alfredo Bernardini

Mozart and Beethoven can come across as surprising at an early music festival, but we’d better get used to it. The musicians play on period instruments that differ considerably from contemporary ones — visually, yes, but all the more in their technical characteristics. They produce the sound these beloved composers had in mind. If we add to this the stripping of the interpretation of later traditions, we get, rolling out before us, a sound fabric that feels fresh despite the familiarity of the melodies. In the suggestive and charismatic performance of what are likely the best masters in their field, the “Viennese harmonies” impress with vitality as never before.