The Mainly Mozart Festival has been held for 36 summers now, making it one year older than its namesake actually lived.
In recent years it was hosted at the Del Mar Surf Sports Park, where attendees endured dampness, bug bites and a bone-jarring drive to the site in order to hear chipper director Michael Francis lead his merry band of Mozarteans.
This year’s festival takes place, in part, at the Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego. Its comparative dryness, superior sound system and better sight lines are an obvious improvement as a home base for Mainly Mozart.
Saturday’s concert featured Mozart’s Symphony no. 31, the “Paris Symphony”; the “Danse Macabre” by Saint-Saëns; and Fauré’s Requiem.
The All-Star Orchestra consists of concertmasters and principals from North America and beyond; under Francis’s guidance, what could be just another pleasant festival pick-up ensemble becomes a polished jewel of an ensemble.
Francis and the All Stars glittered in Mozart and captured the irony in the “Danse Macabre,” which featured gutsy, brilliant violin playing by concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef and tight ensemble work from the brass section.
Francis reduced the string section for the Requiem, and oversaw a nuanced performance by the San Diego Master Chorale.
Baritone Babatunde Akinboboye’s solo in the “Offertorium” was distinguished by a well-rounded tone and superb phrasing. In the “Libera Me” he was dramatic and authoritative.
Soprano Erica Petrocelli showcased an operatic voice with a strong lower and a big vibrato. I thought it too big for the “Pie Jesu,” which should have a more childlike purity.
Vital contributions were made by Bar-Josef in the Sanctus and by organist Nicholas Halbert throughout.
Between Mozart and Saint-Saëns was a surprise piece, Max Richter’s “On The Nature Of Daylight” for strings. Hollywood has discovered the utility of this work to underscore poignant moments in film and TV (eg. “Shutter Island,” “Arrival,” “The Last Of Us”). Like a musical seasoning, it amplifies the original flavor of the offering, but is not so palatable on its own.
Tuesday’s string orchestra concert at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center was a marvel throughout.
Benjamin Britten’s “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10” was composed for the 1937 Salzburg Festival, where it brought the 23-year-old composer immediate fame.
I’m not a fan of much of Britten’s instrumental music, but these 11 brief character pieces add up to a convincing whole. His later works are often too clever for their own good, but there’s an earnestness to the Variations and an impressive technical mastery in his handling of a string orchestra.
Glowing in the acoustics of Baker-Baum Hall, six first violins, six seconds, four violas, four cellos, and two basses took us through Britten’s enchanting musical permutations in a haunting performance overseen by Francis. San Diego Symphony’s own Jeff Thayer was the concertmaster for the All-Star Orchestra.
Following a brief pause, Francis and company turned out the most exquisite rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for strings that I have ever heard live. The entire ensemble captivated with a luscious, vibrato-rich sound. You could really feel the crunch of the multiple-stopped chords.
The violins throbbed with a gorgeous chocolate-cake tone, so moist it seemed sinful. The long violin and cello lines of the “Elegie” were beautifully phrased.
Francis teased out the introduction to the Finale, speeding up and slowing down, before launching into a dazzling musical ride. It was an unforgettable evening.
The Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival continues through June 29. For details, visit mainlymozart.org/allstar.
