It was a big crowd at the City Recital Hall last night for the opening night of “Mozart’s Jupiter” by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. The program promised a full evening of Mozart featuring some of our old favourites. Who could resist? Seats were taken all the way up to the Gods (top level) and the crowd was in a great mood.
The orchestra were conservatively dressed in demure black with only one colour pop of blue hair. The evening began appropriately with Overture to the opera “Le Nozze di Figaro”. Artistic Director Paul Dyer took centre stage with what appeared, from a distance, to be a colourful yellow feather in his lapel. No explanation on that one. He launched into the famous Overture with the superb musicians filled with joy and humour. This is a speciality ensemble carefully selected from all the major cities of Australia plus some overseas talent. They use historical instruments with HIP (Historically Informed Performance) technique.
The sound at the beginning seemed a little stifled and blurred. It is hard to tell if it were the acoustics of the hall but things improved as time went on. The tempi was good with the well known woodwind phrases giggling out like playful children and the brass sounding similar to Haydn’s Toy Symphony. The crowd enjoyed it very much.
In preparation for the next piece, the Violone was tuned to a beautifully present fortepiano (otherwise known as a piano forte), then orchestra tuned to the Violone which is louder and easier to hear. Fortepianos are older than the modern pianos we are familiar with in our concert halls. Timing wise, they sit between the harpsichord and the modern piano so they show an interesting mix of the two. You can clearly see the inventive progress through the passage of time when you study their sound and appearance.
A little technical comparison
With fortepianos, their interior strings are like a harpsichord. The method of playing is different and thus gives a different result. When you press a harpsichord keyboard key down, it creates a see-saw effect, lifting a jack at the other end which plucks the string above using a piece of quill from a feather. It sticks out like the thorn on a rose stem. Then the jack tilts back, like it is in an arm chair, and falls down to it’s original position below the string without plucking it on the way down. It’s a lot of movement and therefore a lot of opportunity for wear and tear on the parts. Harpsichords are high maintenance!
With a fortepiano, the pressing of the keyboard key causes a small leather covered hammer to hit the string instead. My favourite description of the fortepiano sound is that it is like a comfortable slipper. It is soft, muted and exquisite, perfectly suited to salon concerts or small ensemble pieces. It’s much quieter than the modern piano which now has 3 strings hit all at once with a felt covered hammer. The modern piano also has a forth string which rings one octave higher. This high string sits beyond the hammer and resonates with the other strings when they vibrate. The overall effect is an instrument which can play much more loudly. It sounds very metallic, bright and ringing. Ideal for the concert hall and the piano has now completely superseded the fortepiano.
So, to have a fortepiano on the stage is more unusual. You have to lean in to appreciate the music and that muffled, slipper sound is so very comfortable.
Back to the Performance
At the keyboard was guest soloist Francesco Corti from Italy. He performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, another favourite of the audience, accompanied by the orchestra. Corti has performed across Europe, USA, Canada and Latin America. He is a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre, Bach Collegium Japan, Les Talons Lyriques and Le Concert des Nations. His performance was very beautiful, taking liberty to bend and play with the tempo during solo moments. The technique seemed to be of great clarity and expressiveness. He was swapping cheeky looks with Dyer in the final Allegro Assai movement.
Most challenging was the ever-so-delicate Adagio, middle movement. I’ve not before heard so much interruption by an audience – phones ringing, squirming, dropping things, coughing, a whistling hearing aid etc. All things that cannot be helped but it’s still odd they would all happen in the same movement. By the close of the Concerto, the audience gave Corti a long applause and he reciprocated with a substantial encore.
After interval came the title work for the evening. Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, otherwise known as the Jupiter Symphony. Written in the full flow of channelled composition, Mozart pumped out three full symphonies (numbers 39-41) in about 10 weeks during the Summer of 1788, this being the third symphony. Each movement is so well known now that the audience can relax and tune into the intricacies of the instrumental parts.
The musicians were superb, standing rather than sitting, which allowed more freedom of movement. They were often challenged with faster than normal tempi, but scooted over the notes with lightness and accuracy, keeping an eye on each other. The race to the end was not as grand as expected but all musicians were still intact and conscious with instruments in hand so, no harm done.
If you are new to classical music, or would like to introduce someone to it, this is an ideal performance to suit your needs. The music is recognisable with few visible distractions so you can really listen carefully and marvel at the truly wonderful musicians.
Performances run until Saturday 2 November 2024.
Related Links
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra: https://www.brandenburg.com.au/
Concert Pianist Francesco Corti: https://francescocorti.com/
What’s on at City Recital Hall?: https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/?genres=classical-music&range=upcoming
Program
MOZART – Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, K 492
MOZART – Piano Concerto No. 23 K 488
MOZART – Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) K 551
Artists
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Conductor – Paul Dyer
Guest Concert Pianist – Francesco Corti
