Mozart in the What?
MOZART IN THE SOUTH (in Charleston) is expected to be a vibrant, four-day music festival to celebrate the start of another classical music season.
The mini-festival runs from this Thursday, September 10, through Sunday. And it includes a series of all-day Saturday events for children at Marion Square.
Not by accident, this is all happening on the weekend of 9/11. As organizer (and bassoonist) Sandra Nikolajevs, explains, “The festival is intended not only as a tribute to that tragedy, but as a celebration of the human spirit which allows us to move forward from an event that shattered our view of ourselves and our role in the world, but did not destroy it.”
Accordingly, Sandra and Yuriy Bekker have chosen light, introspective pieces—as opposed to heavy, melancholic ones—to create a positive mood of celebration and renewal. Sandra emphasizes that, “We don’t want the tone of the festival to be somber. We want it to embody the joyful spirit of life.”
Sandra Nikolajevs
And what better way to do that than with the music of Amadeus Mozart. Not all the pieces will be by Mozart (as Yuriy mentions in the podcast below), but Mozart’s melodic lightness will definitely set the tone and be the common thread throughout.
Four concerts in four days. Each at a different venue. With a variety of programs. And a gathering of superb musicians that include guest pianist, Andrew Armstrong, who has performed with Yuriy several times (they also have plans to collaborate again later this year in a separate series of performances in South Carolina).
This Friday, Andrew will perform Mozart’s Concerto No. 23 in A Major—a gorgeous, delicate piece. His website says that his 2004 debut CD, featuring Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, was released to great acclaim, and that critic Bradley Bolen commented, “I have heard few pianists play Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Sonata, recorded or in concert, with such dazzling clarity and confidence.”
<~ In this podcast, CSO Concertmaster Yuriy Bekker talks about the program and how Mozart In The South came about.
Something else that makes this weekend special is that it will mark Yuriy Bekker’s conducting debut in Charleston. You wouldn’t know it, but behind Yuriy’s almost devout interest in the violin lies his secret “other passion” for conducting, although it has been several years since he was at the podium. This weekend he will conduct the two orchestral concerts (Friday at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, and Sunday St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church). At the former, he will lead from the chair during the Mozart Concerto No. 23 in A Major. At the latter, he will have only baton in hand for three pieces, including Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 in A Major. Think Yuriy plays the violin well? Wait until you see him conduct.
pianist Andrew Armstrong
The other two evenings (Thursday and Saturday) comprise chamber music concerts. One will be at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church and will highlight Mozart’s Flute Quartet in A Major and his Serenade No. 11 in E-Flat Major. The other is a special fundraiser at the Calhoun Mansion which, if you can still get tickets, will give you the luxury of hearing, among other things, a Bach/Mozart Prelude and Fugue.
Both will feature members of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Charleston, and guest players. As Sandra says, “All of these musicians love to play.” The venues are also beautiful. It should be four nights of superb listening that are certain to whet your appetite for the upcoming season.
10 to 4 • Sat, Sept 12
And don’t forget the Little Mozart Circus for kids on Saturday (learn more here). This is a unique opportunity to expose your children to classical instruments under the direct influence of professional musicians. And it’s in conjunction with the Farmers’ Market, so you can shop, listen, and learn all at the same time. (We’ll also have more on the Circus later this week.) •
Read Lindsay Koob’s reviews of the performances here and here.
