MOZART CONCERTO GALA - CANBERRA SINFONIA

Lucy Macourt, Violin

Alison Mountain, Flute

Rowan Phemister, Harp

Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest  2 April

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

For their first concert for 2022, Canberra Sinfonia presented two of Wolfgang Mozart’s lesser played concerti, the Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 and the Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C major, K. 299.  Both pieces were unconducted and led by their respective soloists.

The Violin Concerto No. 4 was composed in 1775.  In three movements, the Allegro first movement has a distinctive military-sounding opening that continues into a sparkling piece of great beauty.  The second movement is memorably melodic and the rousing third movement is charming.

Lucy Macourt

Led by violinist, Lucy Macourt, the ensemble gave this work a really fine performance.  Macourt played with great sensitivity, especially in the second movement, highlighting the melodies very well.  The ensemble gave the final movement a performance full of energy and feeling that was very enjoyable.

The second work, composed in Paris by Mozart in three movements in 1778, the Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra, was Mozart’s only piece for the harp.  The ensemble was led by Alison Mountain on flute and Rowan Phemister on the harp.

Alison Mountain, flute, Rowan Phemister, harp and the ensemble

The performance of this very appealing work was a pure joy to listen to from start to finish.  Both Mountain and Phemister gave top class performances, bringing out the depth and colour of the music superbly.  The joy of playing this work was readily apparent in both artists and the rest of the ensemble and that feeling was transferred to the audience.  You felt you were witnessing something truly special.

This Mozart Concerto Gala was aptly named.  It was an especially fine concert of sublime music and performances by all involved.

Photos by Peter Hislop 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.