Search - Salzburg Festival Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Muzio Clementi, Leopold Hager / Alberto Zedda :: Friends and Rivals: Mozart and Clementi

On Christmas Eve 1781, Mozart and Clementi took part in a "musical playing" contest in Vienna. Emperor Joseph II staged the contest as an entertainment for his guests, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Russia. The two musicians were called upon to improvise, sight-read and perform selection from their own compositions. The Emperor was unable to decided who was the better performer and so declared the contest a tie. The event started a rivalry between the two composers that lasted for many years. Here the rivalry is extended with piano concertos by both composers and performed by Felicja Blumental. Ms Blumental was born in Warsaw, Poland on 28th December, 1908 where she studied at the National Conservatory. After taking refuge in France and Luxembourg early in World War II, she received a visa to perform in Brazil in 1942. A successful debut in Rio de Janeiro launched her career as a pianist. Ms Blumental was highly thought of by significant 20th century composers who wrote pieces especially for her (Villa-Lobos, Penderecki and Lutoslawski). From the 1960s, she made a speciality of music outside the regular repertory, particularly from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. These historic recordings are now available on Brana Records. Felicja Blumental died in Tel Aviv on 31st December 1991 and in 1999 the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel's most dynamic cultural center named its prestigious International Music Festival after her.