Mainly Mozart made national news in 2020 with its pandemic-driven decision to present drive-in classical music concerts at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. After four years of subsequent pivots and venue changes, this venerable but nimble nonprofit is now planting roots in La Jolla.
Since its inception in 1988, Mainly Mozart’s main venue for its all-star summer orchestra festival was downtown’s historic Balboa Theatre. But the lockdown-fueled move to drive-in concerts and then to outdoor performances on the lawn of the Del Mar Surf Sports Park — boosted by an innovative social media campaign — resulted in record attendance.
“We believed Balboa was our forever home,” recalled Nancy Laturno, Mainly Mozart’s CEO and artistic director. “We never anticipated that we’d have to reconsider what home looked like. It was only through the response to having concerts outdoors in North County that caused us to change our thinking.”
The 2024 Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival will run Thursday through June 29. Two indoor performances will be held at La Jolla’s Baker-Baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. They will be book-ended by four outdoor concerts at UC San Diego’s Epstein Family Amphitheater.
“We loved Del Mar,” Laturno explained. “But the Epstein continues to develop as an important performing arts space. Our focus is (on developing) our long-term permanent home.”
Last summer, for the first time, the all-star festival held two concerts at UCSD’s then-new Epstein. After all the pandemic-related upheavals, veteran Mainly Mozart Music Director Michael Francis noted, the opportunity to call the Epstein home came at the perfect time.
“It almost feels like it was built for us,” Francis said, only half-joking. “As the preeminent orchestra at the Epstein, we’ll be developing a true festival in the center of intellectual heavyweights at UCSD.
‘A wild piece of music’
Francis, who is also music director of the Florida Orchestra and ’s Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonie, pointed out that the All-Star Festival lives up to its name. The ensemble consists entirely of concertmasters and principal players from major American orchestras, all leaders in their respective music organizations.
“Artistically, it’s extremely challenging, because I’m standing in front of the finest musicians in North America,” Francis said. “The requirements upon me as a conductor are huge. But I absolutely love my time with Mainly Mozart.”
Los Angeles Philharmonic principal cellist Robert deMaine, who will be the soloist at one of this month’s Epstein concerts, said it’s very rare to have a collection of such highly skilled artists who are there solely to make music together.
And is Francis up to the task?
“Michael’s a piece of garbage!” deMaine, a self-described “wacko,” exclaimed, quickly adding: “He’s earned the respect of everybody in that orchestra and that’s not an easy task.
“Musicians on our level are notoriously hard to win over, especially if you’re waving a stick in front of us. Michael is universally loved. He has a great bedside manner. He’s as much of a colleague as a leader.”
Francis chuckled on hearing deMaine’s “piece of garbage” description of him, knowing his colleague’s sense of humor.
“We’re working very hard, of course, to turn it into the best possible experience for our audience. It’s a spectacular space!”
“Bob’s a lot of fun,” Francis said. “And he’s a wonderful musician. Bob and his cello concerto will be a real highlight of the festival. It is a wild piece of music.”
On June 27, at the Epstein, deMaine will play Friedrich Gulda’s Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra. The Austrian pianist-composer, who died in 2000, was a classical-musical maverick who frequently dipped into other genres.
Gulda released a jazz album in 1964 and collaborated with jazz great Joe Zawinul in 1988. He wrote his cello and winds concerto in the 1980s. The instruments include a drum set and electric guitar.
“The first movement starts like a ‘70s talk-show soundtrack,” deMaine said, speaking from his L.A. home. “Then it goes into what sounds like ‘Long Train Runnin’’ by the Doobie Brothers. Then it goes into a Viennese style.
“The five movements have blues, rock, folk and waltz. Everything but the kitchen sink is in this piece!”
DeMaine has been playing cello in Mainly Mozart’s chamber-music concerts and at the festival for years. This will be his second time as a soloist. His musician wife, Betsy, and teenage kids, Paul and Annie, will come down from L.A. to hear him play the Gulda concerto at the Epstein.
‘Mystery pieces’
On Thursday, pianist George Li, who performed with the festival orchestra in 2021, returns to play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. On Saturday, Mainly Mozart will present Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, featuring the San Diego Master Chorale and soprano Erica Petrocelli.
“George will play what is probably the most famous of all the Mozart’s piano concertos,” Francis said. “It’s often subtitled ‘Elvira Madigan,’ because of its use in the (1967) film. The second movement is hauntingly beautiful.”
This will be Petrocelli’s first appearance with the festival orchestra. She performed earlier this year with the L.A. Opera and with the Florida Orchestra.
“The requiem was a personal response to Fauré’s mother’s death,” Francis said. “It gives us a chance to explore how we react to those things. How do we find beauty and how do we respond through art? It’s going to be a very moving and uplifting program.”
Saturday’s concert will begin with Mozart’s Symphony No. 31.
“Mozart has always got a little twinkle in his eye,” Francis said. “It’s a little like watching Roger Moore in a James Bond film.”
Francis lives in Tampa Bay with his wife, Cindy, and their 9-year-old daughter, Annabella. For each of this summer’s concerts, Francis has something special up his sleeve.
Inspired by how much surprises can delight his daughter, Francis has planned an unexpected musical addition to each La Jolla concert. The mystery pieces will not be made public beforehand. They may or may not be familiar. But — as with all Mainly Mozart programs — they will be related in some way to the other selections.
“These mystery pieces are another way of adding to the curation of each program,” the conductor explained. “It will be a surprise that hopefully enriches the narrative of the program.”
Mainly Mozart may be settling down this summer, but that doesn’t mean it’s settling for the status quo. One reflection of that will be the 2024 festival performances at the indoor Baker-Baum Concert Hall, a smaller and more intimate space.
Next Sunday’s concert at the Baker-Baum will be a matinee, showcasing the orchestra’s wind players performing Mozart’s Gran Partita.
The string section will be featured at the June 25 concert. It will include Tchaikovsky’s Serenade and Britten’s Variation on a Theme of Frank Bridge.
“With the all-winds and all-brass concerts, we’re presenting diverse programming,” said Mainly Mozart CEO Laturno. “Michael wanted to have highly nuanced pieces — without sound enhancement.”
Friendship & musicianship
Returning to the Epstein on June 27, the orchestra will play Mozart’s Symphony No. 38, and Gulda’s aforementioned Cello and Wind Orchestra.
Francis said that when he discussed the piece with deMaine, the cellist was excited, but not daunted, by the unusual selection.
“His eyes lit up,” Francis recalled. “He said: ‘I’ve always wanted to do it. I’d love to. Please, please, please!’ He’s thrilled.
“The audience may be bewildered by this fabulous, funny and quirky piece of music. I can’t think of anybody better to play it. Bob has a little pop and rock ‘n’ roll in him. It’s going to be a tremendous showpiece for him.”
The last concert of the 2024 All-Star Orchestra Festival will be a musical visit to Scotland, by way of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. It will feature violin virtuoso Stefan Jackiw.
He has played in Mainly Mozart’s chamber-music concerts over the years. But this will be his first time playing with the orchestra.
However, it won’t be his first time playing with Francis.
Jackiw has performed several times with the Florida Orchestra. After years of collaborating, he and Francis have become friends.
“I learn a lot and laugh a lot with Michael,” Jackiw said, speaking from New York, where he lives with his wife, clarinetist Yoonah Kim. “Michael is a sharp, funny and interesting guy. I love playing with him because he brings fresh light to pieces that are frequently played.”
Jackiw, who performed at the Baker-Baum with the Junction Trio last month, is often asked to play the Scottish Fantasy. Bruch hadn’t visited Scotland before composing the work but was influenced by the country’s folk songs. The piece is in four movements rather than the usual three.
“Bruch is not a trailblazer, but he creates these lush romantic tunes better than almost everybody,” said Jackiw, who is also an avid runner. “The movements go from slow to fast. The slow movements are beautiful and one of the fast movements is fiendishly virtuosic and exciting to listen to.”
Friendship was one factor in Francis inviting Jackiw to Mainly Mozart.
“He’s a fantastic musician,” Francis exclaimed. “The Bruch has become one of Stefan’s great show pieces. And the Mendelssohn is one of the great symphonic masterpieces of the 19th century. We should have a highland spring in our step at the end of the concert.”
For attendees concerned with the Epstein Family Amphitheater’s concrete seating, 600 backless cushions and 300 cushions with backs will be available at the venue. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their own seating and blankets.
Shortly after Mainly Mozart’s All-Star Orchestra Festival ends on June 29, Francis will head to to conduct this season’s final eight concerts with the Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonie. Then, the British-born American will fly to London and “collapse,” as he puts it. He’ll be catching up with his wife and daughter, who are visiting Francis’ mother there.
For him, this summer is the time to establish Mainly Mozart at the Epstein, while retaining key aspects of the festival. A thoughtful curator, Francis will continue to speak at each concert, providing history and amusing stories, while demonstrating the through-line that runs through the selected works.
“This is a wonderful continuation of our ever-increasing connection to our audience through our communication approach and the way we curate programs,” Francis noted. “We are celebrating artistic excellence and the sheer joy of music- making.”
Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival
When: All but one of the concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted. Each performance lasts 60-75 minutes, with no intermission.
Where: Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego, 9480 Innovation Lane, La Jolla; The Baker-Baum Concert Hall, Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla.
Schedule:
Thursday, June 20: Mozart’s Piano Concerto 21, featuring George Li and Beethoven’s 6th. Epstein Family Amphitheater
Saturday, June 22: Mozart’s Symphony 31, Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem featuring the San Diego Master Chorale and soprano Erica Petrocelli. Epstein Family Amphitheater
Sunday, June 23: Mozart’s Gran Partita. Baker-Baum Concert Hall (3 p.m.)
Tuesday, June 25: Tchaikovsky’s Serenade and Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge. Baker-Baum Concert Hall
Thursday, June 27: Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 in D Major and Gulda’s Concerto for Cello and Wind Orchestra, featuring cellist Robert deMaine. Epstein Family Amphitheater
Saturday June 29: Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3 and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, featuring violinist Stefan Jackiw. Epstein Family Amphitheater
Tickets: Single tickets for Epstein Family Amphitheater concerts range from $20 to $149. Single tickets for Baker-Baum Concert Hall performances range from $49 $149. Subscription packages are also available.
Online: mainlymozart.org
Wood is a freelance writer.
