Waisenhaus-Messe

Mozart's Mass in C Minor was a commissioned work, written for the inauguration of the Waisenhaus Church in Vienna. The composer was only twelve years old and conducted the première himself in the presence of the court, "to the general satisfaction and admiration of all," as the Viennese press wrote. Haydn's "Missa in angustiis" was written 30 years later. It later received the nickname "Nelson Mass" because of a performance in the presence of Admiral Nelson in 1800, when Haydn was kapellmeister at the court of Prince Esterházy for several years and for the second time. Despite the deteriorating financial situation, which forced Esterházy to reduce the orchestra, the composer wrote six masses during those years. Of these, the "Nelson Mass" is generally considered the finest setting. In the course of his long career, Michael Gielen was music director of the Royal Opera in Stockholm, the Belgian National Orchestra in Brussels, the Dutch Opera and the Opera of Frankfurt. He was also principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Berlin and chief conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra. He developed an early interest in contemporary music and became known for his outstanding performances of the music of Viennese Classicism and the symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler. He conducted various world premières of important 20th-century works such as the opera "Die Soldaten" by Bernd Alois Zimmermann and the "Requiem" by György Ligeti.