reviewvancouver: Tea & Trumpets Series - Magic of Mozart, John Jane

The central theme of this matinee concert, the second in this season’s Tea & Trumpet Series, is the masterful magic of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I would have to assume that most lovers of Mozart’s music saw Miloš Forman’s 1984 film Amadeus. The film was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's play Mozart and Salieri that of course focused on the mythical rivalry between W.A. Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Much of the music performed in this concert was also featured in the film.

As what appears to be the norm with these Thursday afternoon concerts, they begin with an overture. Mozart stretched the deadline of Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, having completed it just a couple of days before opening night. The all too brief Overture contains none of the music from the opera it precedes, nor does it offer much of a clue to the buffoonery acted out.

Ironically, Eine kleine Nachtmusik may be the most instantly recognizable of Mozart’s works. Ironic, because its title suggests that it might have been composed for the purpose of private playing with friends. Composed in four movements, beginning with every piano student’s favourite piece Allegro, Meastro Andrew Crust’s reading is as good as I’ve heard in any concert hall.

The inclusion of Mozart’s Horn Concerto, No. 2 in E-flat major in the repertoire provides principle French horn player Alexander Wide with an opportunity to come to centre stage. His handling of the concerto was quite masterful and very much suited the orchestra’s compact seating for this concert. According to host Christopher Gaze, the work was one of several written for solo horn intended for his friend Joseph Leutgeb.

The second overture of the afternoon is from the opera buffa Don Giovanni and is actually quite evocative of the protagonist’s dark complex character. The orchestra allows members of the audience with a good ear to hear the three part sonata form. The final piece in the regular program was the 4th movement, Molto allegro, of Symphony No. 41, (Jupiter). It is often acclaimed by listeners as being energetic and complex – it’s certainly complex. It was Mozart’s last symphony composed three years before his death in 1791 and is also the longest.

Earlier, the orchestra, led by Maestro Crust performed Antonio Salieri’s Symphony No. 19, in D major (Sinfonia Veneziana). Salieri has had a bum rap in popular culture, partly due to his vilification in the previously mentioned film, but also perhaps that his music has been misunderstood. While some listeners have found his music tedious, others, perhaps more discerning, find his work, like Sinfonia Veneziana finely detailed.

Tea & Trumpet patrons have become accustomed to not leaving the Opheum until hearing an encore. This concert was never going to be the anomaly. Mozart’s first of twelve German Dances in key of C major (No.2 and No.3 were played earlier) was an ideal piece to hum on the way home.