Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the substantial Mass in C minor (K. 139) for the consecration of the Waisenhaus (Orphanage) Church in the Rennweg when he was just twelve years old. The Mass received its first performance on 7 December 1768. While Mozart was overseeing the consecration of the Waisenhaus, Joseph Haydn was in the third year of his promotion to Kapellmeister at the palace of Esterházy, under Prince Nikolaus I. It was a post to which he returned in 1795, serving under Nikolaus II on a part time basis. This second term saw the composition of six Masses, with the penultimate – nicknamed the ‘Nelson Mass’ – widely regarded as his finest setting. The nickname ‘Nelson Mass’ was acquired later, on account of a performance given in the presence of Admiral Nelson in 1800.

The son of opera director Josef Gielen, Michael Gielen was born in Dresden in 1927. In the course of his long career, Gielen has conducted a great number of orchestras, including many American ones. He became known for his outstanding performances of Viennese classical music and works by Bruckner and Mahler.