Alexander Melnikov’s acclaimed catalogue of recordings and enviable track record on international concert stages promises great things for Mozart’s ninth piano concerto: an early (1777) high point in his oeuvre, blessed with the epithet of ‘Jeunehomme’ and dedicated to Victoire Jenamy (‘Mademoiselle Jeunehomme’). It is a major piece of work that even Mozart himself regarded as a milestone. The same can be said of his ‘Symphony in Es K16’, Mozart’s very first contribution to the genre. While Mozart’s first contribution exudes echoes of Baroque overtures, Haydn’s ‘Symphony no. 39’ – composed in the same period – essentially belongs to the ‘Sturm und Drang’ aesthetic. Five years later Mozart composed a symphony that in turn seems indebted to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the Mannheimers. A new step in his musical expedition that would take him down adventurous harmonic paths and into an unbridled melodic imagination. This programme marks the start of B’Rock’s ‘Mozart Project’ in which all of Mozart’s symphonies will be performed over the course of several years.