Word: mozarts
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...should be mentioned that producer John Cearley and his directors daringly chose to tackle an obscure and risky sleeper of an opera in "Hoffmann"--foregoing the insurance of a familiar crowd-pleaser like "The Marriage of Figaro" or "La Boheme." Although Offenbach was referred to as the "Mozart of the Champs-Elysees" earlier in his career, "The Tales of Hoffmann" was his first real opera, departing from his jokier opera-bouffe compositions of the past...
Differences such as these cast an entirely new perspective on Sunday's concert filled with classical favorites. The program consisted of Mozart's Overture to "Le nozze di Figaro" (The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492, and his Violin Concerto in G Major, K. 216; Rossini's Overture to "L'italiana in Algeri" (The Italian Girl in Algiers), and Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 36 by Beethoven. The performance was conducted by guest conductor Andrew Parrott, who has won critical acclaim for his recordings of Baroque music. However, Parrott's expertise and insight into Classical and Romantic music...
...Mozart Overture to "Le nozze di Figaro" fits right into the Valentine theme with the opera's classic comedic plot, replete with anticipated marriages, star-crossed crushes, and a character named Cherubino. Like the opera, the overture too is a classic. It is a sweeping, theatrical piece with sudden dynamic changes and deft technical work in the string section, all of which were handled perfectly by the orchestra. The effect produced by the period instruments on a piece normally performed by a much larger orchestra was interesting; the thin, pure sound of the violins juxtaposed with the raw yet perfectly...
...second Mozart piece, the Violin Concerto in G Major, featured Harvard's own Daniel Stepner. Stepner is in his eleventh year as concertmaster for H&H and is a member of many chamber ensembles in Boston. Once again, the orchestra played with a spare precision that complemented the brilliant music and Stepner's clear, light tone. At times, his tone seemed almost too thin, but his low notes were startlingly dark and rich. The cadenzas began tentatively, though they always progressed into intricate virtuosic passages rich with finely wrought ornamentations. The solo passage in the Adagio movement was especially memorable...
...called the National Symphony," he says, "you have an obligation, not just out of a sense of duty but out of real love, to present the music of your own country. We should be thinking of our own repertoire in the same way that the Austrians view Mozart and the Germans look at Brahms...