Mozart: Requiem

«Feverish strophulus»: so reads the official cause of death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 1791. The composer left behind his unfinished Requiem, commissioned by a secretive «grey messenger». Count Walsegg, remaining anonymous while wanting to strut in borrowed musical plumes, had sent a minion with a request for a work honouring his wife, who had died at the age of 20, just ten months before Mozart. To ensure the fee was still paid, Mozart’s widow Konstanze had to find a way of getting the score finished, combing her circle of friends, students and confidants for aid. Franz Xaver Süßmayr was by no means her first choice. Which is how it came about that Mozart’s Requiem was first heard on 14 December 1793 in Neukloster Abbey near Wiener Neustadt with Süßmayr’s additions – not only under the count’s baton but also under his name. The Tonkunstler bear witness to this idiosyncratic set of historical circumstances and bring Mozart’s Requiem back to Wiener Neustadt every year on 5th December, the anniversary of the composer’s death. The Konzertchor Interpunkt and a hand-picked quartet of soloists do the singing, while Andreas Ottensamer returns to the podium.