Spontini and Mozart,
in the shadow of Pergolesi

It is not known when Spontini met Mozart; but proof of his interests in Mozart’s music are numerous.  From his arrival in Paris, in 1802, Spontini showed great admiration and knowledge of the work of Mozart. 
Perhaps he had listened to the Requiem in 1803, at a concert conducted by Cherubini, a work that Spontini himself would become a notable interpreter of. He conducted his first Don Giovanni in Paris at the Théâtre Italien, and was a frequent leader of Mozart’s operas in Berlin. He began a correspondence with Constanze, (widow of Amadeus); all this allowed him to organise the publication of the first official Mozart biography, financed and edited by Spontini’s promotion and initiative. 
Spontini in his Parisian and Berlin years developed a knowledge of  Mozart’s work and personality, and this enthusiasm became the motive of the sixth Pergolesi Spontini Festival. The festival’s theme also interweaves the notion that both composers were geniuses sharing the romantic myth, destined to die in the bloom of youth, because they were (“caro agli dei”)“Loved by the Gods”. Pergolesi and his untimely death (at the age of only 26) makes him a prefiguration and a kindred spirit of Mozart. Pergolesi, the acclaimed Genius of the Parisian  Bouffons and author of “La serva padrona”  became part  of the romantic pantheon of music.