It's that time of year again – time for Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City. Every year when the temperatures heat up in July and August, the cultural scene in New York City heats up, as well. Summertime is the perfect season for sizzling musical performances and hot theatrical numbers that comprise the Mostly Mozart Festival. Lincoln Center celebrates the best of the best in performing arts, and lovers of the arts travel from all over the world to experience this widely respected Festival in the heart of the city that never sleeps.

Not only does the Lincoln Center Campus offer the perfect venue for some of today's best entertainment, but also Lincoln Square features fabulous eateries, quaint shops and a vibrant neighborhood of architectural eye candy. To really take in all that Lincoln Center has to offer, you might consider taking a guided tour, which are offered daily. A tour will give you an inside look at what happens on and off the prestigious stages of the Metropolitan Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, David H. Koch Theater, Vivian Beaumont Theater and Alice Tully Hall. You might even catch a rehearsal in action! Get ready to absorb culture, history and world-class entertainment all in one tour.

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The Festival – Its Birth, Its Growth, Its Success

The Mostly Mozart Festival was birthed in 1966 and was named, "Midsummer Serenades: A Mozart Festival," which was fitting since it consisted entirely of Mozart's music. Held in Avery Fisher Hall, the Festival proved that the world was ready to embrace an indoor summer music festival, and the world has been embracing it ever since. With inexpensive ticket prices, a more casual concert-going atmosphere and stellar entertainment, folks from every walk of life soon discovered they liked classical music.

To continue drawing audiences over the past 44 years, the Festival needed to evolve and grow, and it has. Today, the Festival offers period-instrument ensembles, dance performances, the latest musical groups, visiting orchestras, opera productions, composers, artists-in-residence, late-night shows, films, lectures and more. Featuring popular contemporary artists and composers such as Magnus Lindberg, John Adams, Peter Sellars, Mark Morris and Lynette Wallworth, as well as the Maori dance company Mau and the talented chorus Schola Cantorum de Caracas, the Festival has not just survived the past four decades, it has thrived.

But, the very essence of the Festival is the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, which began dazzling appreciative crowds in 1973. The Orchestra performs in Avery Fisher Hall with a renovated setting that allows the gifted musicians to perform in closer proximity to the audiences who adore them. Every summer, the Orchestra wows audiences with orchestral works of Mozart and many magnificent others. It's no surprise that many New York conducting debuts have taken place with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, including the introduction of Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman and Edo de Waart to name a few. The Orchestra has gained such popularity in New York City that it has been asked to perform at other prestigious festivals such as Ravinia and Tanglewood. And, the Orchestra has had residencies at Bunkamura Arts Center in Tokyo and the Kennedy Center.