Friday, February 15, 2013

COUNTDOWN to our February 17th Concert - Post #3


Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-Flat, K. 450

Imagine hearing the young wunderkind Mozart himself, playing
one of his own brilliant piano concertos.....something which occurred
often during the Lenten season (that is, during February and March)
in Vienna, during the 1780's.  Impossible to go back into time for such
an event, I realize.

However, you can experience something similar at Sunday's concert,
as young master Roger Shen takes charge of the proceedings as soloist
in one of Mozart's most delightful, tuneful concertos---a work which
Mozart himself premiered as soloist in 1784.

I will let each of you discover what lies ahead in terms of the pianistic
excellence on this program. The work itself is one of those Mozartean
miracles, every note of which is perfectly conceived and crafted.

The first movement begins with a jolly, jaunty tune played by oboes and
bassoons, which indeed gives the impression that the local town pipers
are on parade. This is only a precursor to the wondrous things which
follow, as the seemingly unstoppable flow of Mozart's genius continues.
The lyrical second movement is both simple and exquisite-- the orchestral
strings play a gorgeous, hymn-like melody, which the pianist then repeats
and embellishes. That's basically all that happens in this movement....
and that's all you'll need to float off into Mozart's own vision of heavenly
bliss.

 
The finale is, again, full of delights that could have only come from Mozart's
youthful font of genius---there are comic sequences, a miniature
bird-song exchange between flute, oboe and piano and at the very last minute, 
a coda in which Mozart turns the entire orchestra and piano into a brisk and
articulate military marching unit, as the music concludes in a burst of festive
brilliance.

 
Mozart himself wrote to his father of the difficulty of this concerto, stating that
this was a work to make the pianist "sweat". It is indeed a mighty challenge
for a young soloist -- or any soloist (Leonard Bernstein considered it Mozart's
most difficult!). But I must say that, having rehearsed this great work in
detail with young Mr. Shen, you will definitely hear a performance of great
technical and expressive achievement. You might even imagine that you are
in the presence of the the young Mozart himself, as Roger Shen's ten fingers
duplicate exactly what Mozart had written for himself to play ....way back
in March, 1784.

Thanks for reading.

Larry 
(Bernstein)

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