‘Beethoven & Mozart’ @ Fort Worth Symphony

—Wayne Lee Gay

The existential crisis that swept European civilization in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries also created a defining moment in the history of music: the era of Mozart and Beethoven. This weekend, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and music director Robert Spano devote the opening program of the 2026-27 season to the music of those two geniuses.

The result is an agenda featuring two powerful performances of Beethoven—via the Egmont Overture and his Fifth Symphony—on either side of a disappointingly bland rendition of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. 

Conductor Spano calls on the full resonance of the modern orchestra throughout the Egmont; though Beethoven wrote for an orchestra with a lighter, more transparent texture than modern ensembles, his ideas arguably demand the richer timbres of the modern orchestra.  Spano is not timid in calling on those resources, to the benefit of Beethoven's music, beginning with the somber F-minor opening pronouncement that draws the listener irresistibly into the turmoil and fervor of the age of revolution. 

For contrast, 2025 Cliburn gold medalist Aristo Sham joins the orchestra and Spano for one of Mozart's most frequently performed concert works, the Piano Concerto in A. Here, Sham and Spano create a nicely elegant, suave tone;  Unfortunately, the calm beauty fails to communicate the subtle but real drama in the piece, resulting in a dull, static performance. (However, the Friday night audience in Bass Hall responded with a genuinely enthusiastic ovation.)

After intermission, the glories of Beethoven's Fifth, certainly one of the most universally admired and recognized works in classical repertoire, come across magnificently.  Spano underlines the subtle counterpoint of themes throughout, and the numerous exposed solos are executed with passion and expertise—particularly the brief but explosively (and brilliantly) executed horn solo in the exposition, which in turn sets the dramatic tone for the entire four-movement work. And, as it should, Spano's perfectly paced arrival at C major at the beginning of the final movement provides a moment of triumph and hope delivered across the centuries from Beethoven's troubled time to our own equally daunting era.   

WHEN: September 11-13, 2026 (repeats Sunday at 2:00)
WHERE: Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
WEB: fwsymphony.org