1788 - Empty Pockets

Donald Macleod joins Mozart as he tries to charm his way out of serious financial trouble.

All this week, we’ll be hearing Mozart’s famous swansong, his Requiem, in its entirety as Donald Macleod charts the highs and lows of the composer's last five years, from veneration to humiliation and back again. We hear how Mozart coped with all that life threw at him and somehow managed to compose many of the works he’s most loved for today.

Today, Mozart gets a job as court composer for the emperor, but it’s not enough to keep him on top of his mounting debts. With a growing family to feed, and the Viennese pressure to keep up appearances, how will he keep himself afloat?

Contredance in C major “La Bataille”
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Symphony No 40 (iii. Menuetto)
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Marc Minkowski, conductor

Divertimento in E flat major, K 563 (I. Allegro)
Trio Zimmermann

Requiem: Dies Irae; Tuba mirum; Rex tremendae
Karita Mattila, soprano 
Sarah Mingardo, contralto 
Michael Schade, tenor 
Bryn Terfel, bass 
Swedish Radio Choir 
Berlin Philharmonic 
Claudio Abbado, conductor 

Piano Sonata No 16 in C major, K545 “Facile” (ii. Andante)
Andras Schiff, piano

Symphony No 41 “Jupiter” (1st and 2nd movements)
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ivan Fischer, conductor

Produced by Amelia Parker for BBC Audio Wales and West