an unexpected concert

[calimac]

I was just about to leave the public library downtown when the car radio announced an attractive little concert: a free performance of Mozart's Gran Partita, K.361, the wind serenade whose slow movement Salieri rhapsodizes over in Amadeus. Though the announcement was phrased in general terms ("Sunday at 3 pm"), it dawned on me that this was ... half an hour from now! And it was in the California Theatre, a few blocks away.

I hastily re-parked the car and walked over, where I found a small scattered audience listening to Daniel Leeson, a Mozart scholar who'd be playing basset horn in the performance, give a racounteuring account of the history of the manuscript, which eventually found its way to the Library of Congress in 1942. Copies of the printed facsimile edition were placed on stands for the audience to admire.

For it turned out that this concert was part of a traveling exhibition arranged by LC to celebrate the Mozart anniversary year. After the performance there was a brief presentation by the Librarian himself, James Billington, to the man whose foundation had funded the concert, David Packard the younger, both of whom had been hiding in the audience.

I hope they enjoyed the show. Conducted by George Cleve, to whose Midsummer Mozart festival this formed a kind of prelude, the musicians gave a bright, crisp performance particularly delectable in the tight, sizzling finale. I love wind serenades (or, more accurately, serenades with a lot of winds in them, for even the Gran Partita has a contrabass hiding at the bottom - some inaccurate sources have this as contrabassoon, but a contrabassoon can't play pizzicato as the score indicates, so that settles that) - Dvorak's, Brahms's, even Richard Strauss's, but they're all consciously modeled on this one of Mozart's.

Comments

[asimovberlioz.livejournal.com]

I love the Gran Partita. It is probably my favorite Mozart work, which is saying something.

I've only heard it performed live only once, an outdoor performance at a cafe in the Dinkytown area of Minneapolis (new the University of Minnesota East Bank campus). The fourth horn was the woman I still consider the love of my life. Interestingly, she was introduced to me on April Fools Day/Good Friday 1983 by skzbrust.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

During the talk, Leeson asked how many of the audience had ever heard the work live before. About four people raised their hands. (I am not sure whether I had or not.)

Leeson then proceeded to wax rhapsodic on the joys of hearing a masterwork for the first time at all, which of course is not the same thing.

[(Anonymous)]

I am extremely jealous! I hadn't heard about this performance. I was attending an opera anyway, but still ... sigh. I did this work a few times, but it was long ago. Once with Midsummer Mozart, in fact. The other was in college.

So who played oboe? It has a killer second oboe part in the movement you mention ... SO difficult to pull off without cracking notes, but wonderful when it works.

-patty

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I asked about a program, but none was provided. Both oboeists were men. The first oboeist was stocky, short-haired and clean-shaven, a bit florid. I don't remember what the second oboeist looked like. No cracks in any notes that I heard (even from the horns), and the first oboe was particularly commanding in the finale.

[(Anonymous)]

Ah well ... just curious who is playing in the group now (assuming it's the Midsummer Mozart folk). I think it might be a non-local, but I can't remember who they used last year now.

Too bad there was no program. Or any advertisement about the event as far as I know. Was there a full house at least?