Violinists Play In Prague Square – Then Whole Orchestra Joins For Impressive Mozart Flash Mob Performance

Dec 28, 2019

In recent years, flash mobs have been dismissed as phenomena that were already out of style by the time the first iPhone entered the market; however, when a flash mob of classically trained musicians suddenly appear to masterfully play Mozart, the flash mob trend is more than welcome.

Usually described as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Prague is often crowded with visitors. There are quite a few places where you can sit down to enjoy live musical performances, and you can also find buskers playing in many of Prague's gorgeous squares and plazas. Quite recently, three musicians were serenading passerby with a nice melody played on cello, violin, and flute; their performance was being recorded by a couple of tourists on their smartphones when a young man carrying an instrument walks up to the trio.

The young man took out a string instrument out of its case and started playing Rondo alla Turca, the third movement of the Piano Sonata No. 11 composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1783. This is not a piece that would normally be played on a tar, a traditional Persian instrument, but the young man totally nailed it. The trio immediately recognized not only the Rondo but also the talent of the young performer, so they just smiled and provided accompaniment.

Before long, the musicians naturally gelled and got in the pocket, thus drawing a small crowd. Student musicians training with the Prague Film Orchestra seemed to notice the street performance and decided to join in; conductor Jiří Korynta saw a good chance to get all musicians on cue to the delight of the now sizable crowd, and the sonata sounded heavenly. Things change when a conductor takes charge; in this case, Korynta assessed the acoustics of the open square and guided the musicians to apply crescendo during key passages.

The entire flash mob was recorded on digital film by two videographers who were capturing images of the lovely Prague. Once they edited their work and posted it on social networks, it did not take long for this orchestral maneuver on the street to become a viral hit. As the Spanish website Camino de Musica points out, this wonderful performance was specifically set up for International Music Day and aimed to promote cooperation between students from Azerbaijan and the rest of Europe.

After watching this video, what do you think about flash mobs? Are they still in vogue? Pass this on to your friends and discuss.