Mostly Mozart Closing Night Performance

[Werner]

August 27, 2005. Avery Fischer Hall
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Louis Langrée, Conductor
Jonathan Biss, Piano
Sandrine Piau, Soprano
Tove Dahlberg, Mezzo-Soprano
Gregory Turay, Tenor
Patrick Carfizzi, Bass-baritone
RussianPatriarchate Choir
Concert Chorale of New York
James Bagwell, Director

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 inD Minor, K 466 (1785)
Mass in C Minor, K 427 (1783)

The 2005 Mostly Mozart Festival came to a glorious conclusion tonight. Conductor Louis Langrée led with the elan and energy which has characterized the proceedings since he took charge three years ago. His busy schedule seems to be primarily in Europe. On the evidence of his MostlyMozart performances, America should hear more of him.

Most of the seasons I can remember, the concluding conerts have featured Mozart's Requiem. This time the choral work was the Grand Mass in C Minor, written some six years before the Requiem. Less frequently heard, it made a great impression in tonight's performance.

The chrus of some fifty voices included members of a Russian choral group, who had given a program of Russian liturgcal music in the Mostly Mozart series at Tully Hall two evenings ago. The combination worked, and the choral portion of a work full of youthful power and energy was thrillingly realized.

The four vocal soloists had some challenging parts to perform. Both sopranonand mezzo delivered thei portion of Mozarean coloratura passages satisfactority, although my impression was that coloratura was not their strongest point. But there was plenty of songful and lyrical material in which they were very impressive. The tenor Gregory Turay did what was asked of him with satisfying results. My sympathy, though, went to the bass-bartone Patrick Carfizzi, whose part did not call for him to sing until the Benedictus - almost the end of the Mass. Having sat in silence almost through ther entire Mass, he delivered a strong and impressive performance of of his brief part.

The first half of the program was given to the D Minor Piano Concerto. The soloist was twenty-four-year old Jonathen Biss, whose parents (Violinst Miriam Fried and violist/violinist Paul Biss) and grandmother (Cellist Raya Garbousova) have been prominent musicians, and whose teachers have included Leon Fleisher. That's a pretty powerful musical background. Mr. Biss lived up to it. Producing a beautiful musical tone, he delivered an energetic but not supercharged Mozart. For cadenzas he played the Beethoven one in the first movement and a brief but interesting and quite brilliant one of his own - not too far from the Mozart/Beethoven idiom in the third movement. And, yes, one could hear the difference in personality when he Beethoven cadenza began.

The audience acclaimed the performance enthusiastically - rightly so.

The hall was packed with listeners of mixed ages. Mostly Mozart has not lost its charms yet.

[Ralph]

Glad you enjoyed it. While you were at the concert Teddy and I were across the street at Sushi-A-Go-Go.

[Werner]

I hope you enjoyed the Sushi. Glad to pinch-hit for you.