Mozart's 31st Symphony was an effort by the 22 year-old composer to impress the Parisian audience who last knew him as a child prodigy during a lengthy tour of Europe's courts with his family. Mozart had a low opinion of the French, saying, "I hope that even these idiots will find something in it to like." When the three-movement work won them over at its premiere, Mozart wrote that he "had a large ice, said the rosary, as I'd vowed to do, and then went home."

A star-studded lineup of soloists will perform Kinsfolknem, a concerto for wind quartet by Jasmine Barnes, an Emmy Award-winning composer and celebrated vocalist. The piece was premiered last August at Carnegie Hall.

With its iconic four note opening motif, Beethoven's 5th Symphony is the most famous piece of Western music ever written, Its premiere however was far from auspicious. The Viennese audience shivered in the freezing concert hall; the piece began more than two hours into a four-hour concert; and the nearly deaf composer who was conducting the orchestra had to stop the ensemble and go back to the beginning. It was only when the music critic E.T.A.Hoffmann got hold of the score and wrote a glowing 4500 word review that people began to take notice. With the dynamic Nicholas McGegan conducting, you will too!