OKC’s Brightmusic to perform “Mozart: From Salzburg to Vienna”
The Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble will present its fifth and final regular-season concert, Mozart: From Salzburg to Vienna, Tuesday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. This all-Mozart evening will feature his most popular work, Eine kleine Nachtmusik.
Mozart’s String Duo No. 1 in G (K. 423) for violin and viola was written when the child-genius was only 17 to help out a colleague—Joseph Haydn’s brother, Michael—who was unable to complete a commissioned work due to illness. By this time, Mozart had been composing for over a decade so, though it is a youthful work, it does not lack maturity.
Like Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B-flat (K. Anh. 91), for two violins, viola, cello and clarinet, was published after the composer’s death at the early age of 35. The quintet, like some of Mozart’s later works, was finished by another, in this case, the renowned Mozart scholar R.D. Levin. The program will include Mozart’s enchanting Violin Sonata No. 24 in B-flat (K. 378/317d), transcribed for clarinet quartet (violin, viola, cello and clarinet).
Capping the evening is a work that has long been considered Mozart’s best-loved, his serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik—literally “A Little Night Music” (K. 525) for two violins, viola, cello and double bass.
This work was among a bundle of manuscripts that Mozart’s young widow took to a publisher hoping to generate some badly-needed cash. Though it is thought to be missing a movement, there is plenty of charm in the surviving four movements.
Musicians appearing in this concert are Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis (violin), Samuel Formicola (viola), Meredith Blecha-Wells (cello), George Speed (double bass) and Chad Burrow (clarinet).
Performances are in the beautiful and acoustically-rich St. Paul’s Cathedral at 7th and N. Robinson near downtown Oklahoma City. Tickets are $20 at the door. Children, students, and active-duty military personnel admitted free with ID. There is free parking south of the cathedral.
For more information, visit www.brightmusic.org.
Copyright The Gayly – April 4, 2019 @ 7:15 a.m. CDT.