Like so many millions of other music lovers, I, too, have not attended a LIVE concert until today. And this afternoon, 014/09/2022, this drought was broken when I attended the concert by the English Baroque Soloists at Stanford University.
During the first half, they opened with Haydn’s symphony #103 (the drum roll) which was familiar and great. Strong ensemble playing and sounds that led to my feeling grateful.
The second work was the Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola by Mozart. I am sorry to say that this part of the performance was a disappointment. The two soloists were members of the orchestra, and they simply did not provide the abilities of a soloist to match what, in my view, Mozart had in mind. Yes… most of the notes were there even though some were out of tune. The work simply must have two instrumentalists that are “on top of their game’, and these two performers today did not measure up.
After intermission, the orchestra seating was changed somewhat for the Symphony #39 by Mozart. The violins and violas were standing, and this brought better balance to the well-known sounds of Mozart’s symphony.
Thank you, Sir Eliot Gardiner for bringing your group to Stanford today!!
Here is Mozart’s masterpiece, his Symphony #39:
