Prague Symphony

It turned out to be a great decision last year: Olga Pashchenko as a piano soloist with the Orkest van de Achttiende Eeuw (Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century). The Leidsch Dagblad newspaper raved: ‘Olga dances over the keys.’ The collaboration was so successful that it was clear it needed to be continued. Pashchenko can be heard tonight in a piano concerto by Jan Ladislav Dussek that is due for a revival. The Czech Dussek was once a very popular contemporary of Mozart. Czech conductor Václav Luks specialises in this repertoire.

Playing on original instruments and in a historically informed way, that is what the Orkest van de Achttiende Eeuw has been doing with great success for more than forty years. Both well-known and lesser-known repertoire. Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 is certainly well-known. He composed it in a very short time between his operas Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. The symphony premiered in Prague, where Mozart was very much beloved.

‘Václav Luks’s performances are so engrossing that it’s easy to miss some of the subtle touches he brings to the music’ ★★★★ Bachtrack