Today I had two great Mozart experiences, and they were in two very different situations, but they shared similarities despite their different settings.
The first: Mozart’s great Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major. What a sparkling jewel of perfection this concerto is! And as played by Angela Hewitt, it is polished to its highest luster. The slow movement is one of those perfect pieces of music that you cannot imagine being composed by anyone who is “just” a mortal human being. The passage towards the last third of the movement where the strings accompany the piano in soft pizzicati gives me the chills every time – it’s unimaginably beautiful and sublime.
The second: Mozart’s string quartet in C major, K. 465 “Dissonant”. It was such a joy to get back together with my colleagues in the Arnica Quartet (with guest cellist Trevor Fitzpatrick) and do a quick reading rehearsal of the first movement of this greatest of Mozart’s set of six quartets dedicated to “Papa” Haydn. Being able to hear one another clearly, making our own sounds at our own whim, and doing this all while playing one of the great quartets of music history – it was, as Visa would say, priceless. We’ll be performing this piece, along with a work by Haydn as part of the Friends of the Oregon Symphony Parties of Note fundraiser. Click on the preceding link for more information.