Mozart’s Holiday in Strassburg
In this post we discover the connection between Mozart’s 3rd Violin Concerto and ‘Strassburg’…
Firstly, lets clear up one little confusion. The UNESCO world heritage city of Strasbourg in the Alsace region of northern France is not the same as Straßburg, the historic town in Austria, or indeed Strasburg (or Straceburch) in north-eastern Germany.
So which one of these gave its name to Mozart’s third violin concerto – and why?
We are talking about the first of these: Strasbourg – the home of the European Parliament and the Council of Europe – which was also referred to as Strassburg.
Back in 1778, the 22 year-old Mozart had been having a difficult time in Paris. His father, Leopold, was urging him to return home to Salzburg as fast as possible.
Instead Mozart decided to break his journey and visit Strassburg for a month. He gave three concerts but with disappointingly small audiences and making only a tiny amount of money, although he did make a few useful contacts.
When he was about to leave, he wrote to his father putting a positive spin on things saying:
‘Strasbourg can scarcely do without me. You cannot think how much I am esteemed and beloved here… Everyone knows me.’
So did he name his Strassburg concerto after this visit?
Actually, no! Mozart had already written – and named – this concerto three years earlier in 1775 at the age of just 19 when he was serving as concertmaster of the Archbishop’s court orchestra in Salzburg.
It seems that the answer to this puzzle lies in the concerto’s third movement.In another letter to his father, the composer referred to its jig-like folk-style melody known as a Strassburger Dance.
This may in turn have take the name from the so-called ‘dancing plague’ of 1518. By the 18th century it had become a traditional rustic peasant dance with folksy fiddling and droning double-stops often used played in late Viennese imperial ballrooms.
You can hear this fabulous concerto performed by the Firebird Orchestra and soloist Yury Revich on 28 April.
Mozart’s Strassburg
St George’s Hanover Square | Tuesday 28 April 2026, 7.30pm
Conductor Michael Thrift | Violin Yury Revich
Mozart Violin Concerto no. 3 in G, K. 216 (‘Strassburg‘)
Saint-Saëns Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
Credits:
Photo of Yury Revich by Ursula Vavrik
Strassburg by By Jonathan M (Public Domain, Wikimedia)
European Parliament by By Diliff (Public Domain, Wikimedia)
Strassburger Dance by By Pieter Brueghel the Elder (Public Domain, Wikimedia
