Utah Symphony & Chorus: Mozart's 'Requiem'

It’s hard to think of a piece of music surrounded by more mystery than Mozart’s “Requiem.” When 35-year-old Wolfgang died Dec. 5, 1791, he was still working on the piece the Utah Symphony & Chorus will tackle this weekend. While an entire industry has been built up around how, why and who caused Mozart’s death, his unfinished work raises just as many questions.

How much of the work had he actually finished when he was done? How much of it was dictated from a bed he was too sick to leave? Did the man who commissioned the work, Count Franz von Walsegg, keep his identity secret from Mozart because he wanted to pass the requiem off as his own? How many scraps of paper were left lying around that were then incorporated into the final work that was put together by Franz Sssmayr?

Whatever the answers, “Requiem” is a moving piece of music. Audiences at Abravanel Hall will get to hear a version put together by Harvard musicologist Dr. Robert Levin that aims to restore what is “believed” to be its original structure. (Geoff Griffin)

Utah Symphony & Chorus: Mozart’s Requiem @ Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, 801-355-2787, April 27-28, 8 p.m., $20-$70. ArtTix.org, UtahSymphony.org