Orchestra Mozart

The Orchestra Mozart was founded in 2004 within a special project of Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna, with which it still continues working. The ensemble features soloists and principal players from the most prestigious international orchestras, as well as young talents from all over Europe. Throughout its years of activity, the Orchestra has collaborated with important musical institutions, such as Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall in London and Salle Pleyel in Paris. 

A hallmark of the Orchestra's identity is its constant effort aimed at combining the symphonic spirit with the chamber music one, that is to say, keeping in mind the importance of reciprocal listening and experience-sharing, which are crucial in chamber music. For this reason, along with its great symphonic repertoire, the Orchestra Mozart has always cultivated its chamber music repertoire by offering concerts featuring different ensembles, from trio to octet, to small ensembles, in which principal players and musicians of the Orchestra have participated from time to time as I Solisti dell'Orchestra Mozart. 

The Orchestra Mozart has been directed ever since its foundation and for the following ten years by Claudio Abbado. In 2014, after Maestro Abbado’s demise, the Orchestra interrupted its activities, then came back in 2016 thanks to an important crowdfunding campaign, promoted by the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna and supported with strength and dedication by the musicians themselves.

From 2017 to 2019 the Orchestra was directed by Bernard Haitink for the Easter concerts in Lugano, held every year in the artistic residence of LuganoMusica, and in the following days in Bologna.

In 2019 the Orchestra Mozart found an important new guide in Daniele Gatti. As its Music Director, Gatti aimed from the very beginning at broadening the Orchestra's repertoire, turning to both the early twentieth century and to the less known compositions of the traditional nineteenth-century repertoire. With his valuable work, Gatti is adding new hallmarks to the Orchestra's identity, both in terms of its analytical depth and straightforwardness and of the communicative immediacy of its performance. 

In 2020 the Orchestra Mozart was guest of the 68th Ravello Festival with Daniele Gatti. 

In 2021 it toured and played on the stages of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Manzoni in Bologna and LAC in Lugano. In December 2021, the Orchestra performed at Teatro Olimpico in Rome the opening concert of the bicentennial celebrations of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana.

In 2022, it was once again guest at the artistic residence in Lugano, where it gave the Easter concert, which was then performed again the following day at Teatro Manzoni in Bologna. 

In September 2022 the Orchestra Mozart has been guest of Ferrara Musica for a three-year artistic residency. In this framework, together with its Musical Director Daniele Gatti, it will work on a significant project that features the complete execution of Beethoven's nine symphonies. This  Beethoven cycle began with Symphony No. 3 performed, along with Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen, at Teatro Comunale in Ferrara (28/09), Teatro Verdi in Salerno (29/09), Teatro Filarmonico in Verona (30/09), Teatro Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna (1/10) and Sala Verdi in the Conservatory of Milan (2/10).

2023 marked a turning point for the Orchestra Mozart, which, among other things, returned to perform in the city that is also its home, Bologna, with a triple appointment. The first part of the tour, in April, saw the Orchestra perform at the Arena del Sole Theater in Bologna (11/04), at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence (12/04), and at the LAC in Lugano (13/04) with a program dedicated to Brahms and Wagner. The autumn saw the development of the Beethoven project, which brought the Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Symphonies to the cities of Ferrara (15 and 17/09), again Bologna (18 and 19/09), Milan (20/09), and Lugano (21/09).

In 2024, the audience will have another opportunity to listen to the Orchestra Mozart: it will be conducted by Daniele Gatti in a double Beethoven tour (June and September) which includes a sumptuous epilogue of Beethoven's nine symphonies cycle started in September 2022. In June, the Orchestra Mozart's tour will see the performance of the First and Seventh symphonies in the cities of Ferrara (12/06), Milan (13/06), along with the performance of the Second symphony, and Bologna (14/06). The September program will feature the performance of the Eighth symphony and, with great commitment from the entire organization in collaboration with the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, will also boast the presence of the Teatro Comunale choir and 4 internationally renowned soloists for the last Symphony, the Ninth. The September tour will touch, again, the cities of Ferrara (19/09), Bologna (20/09), and Milan (21/09).

The productions of the Orchestra Mozart have featured the participation of internationally renowned soloists such as Martha Argerich, Alfred Brendel, Mario Brunello, Giuliano Carmignola, Enrico Dindo, Isabelle Faust, Hélène Grimaud, Natalia Gutman, Rachel Harnisch, Jonas Kaufmann, Julia Kleiter, Alexander Lonquich, Radu Lupu, Sara Mingardo, Anna Netrebko, René Pape, Maria João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Vadim Repin, and Yuja Wang. The Soloists of the Orchestra Mozart, who are the protagonists of chamber music concerts, have collaborated over the years with important artists such as Guy Braunstein, Bruno Canino, Giuliano Carmignola, Till Fellner, Ingrid Fliter, and Alexander Lonquich.