The Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216, was composed by Mozart when he was only 19 for orchestra including pairs of flutes, oboes, and horns. The arrangement performed here folded the wind lines into the parts for string orchestra alone. On the surface, this seems like it should work well enough, and it does for much of the accompaniment. However, the lovely legato slow movement felt a bit colorless without the solo flute shining through with the urging counter line of the horn.
This concerto is ebullient and bounces with lively energy. Coucheron’s spirited performance, as well as Mulligan’s over-sized movements, played up these qualities. Mozart’s good humor was fully evident in the final movement of contrasting segments.
Video views of art in the world
In conjunction with its current show, “Janaina Tschäpe: Between the Sky and the Water,” the Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College is offering a video series tied to the career retrospective of the artist. On Saturday and Sunday, the museum will be showcasing some of Tschäpe’s video works that were created from 2000 to 2014 and touch on some of the painted and sculpted pieces featured in the exhibition. Showings start at the bottom of every hour and will be limited to 20 people on a first-come, first-served basis. The videos are included with museum admission. The exhibition continues through May 2 at 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information: 941-304-4300; sarasotaartmuseum.org
Mulligan, who had been scheduled to be a guest conductor this season before the pandemic upended the schedule, is a last-minute stand-in for the orchestra’s artistic advisor, Jeffrey Kahane, who was to have led an 11-member chamber ensemble in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat Major.
Unforeseen circumstances are preventing Kahane from performing, said Greenfield, and Mulligan, most recently associate conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, will instead take the podium for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216, and Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 9 in C Major.
The pandemic hit while the orchestra was in the middle of a search to find a new music director to succeed Anu Tali, who stepped down in 2018 after six years. Several of the seven conductors set to lead Masterworks concerts, the organization’s centerpiece programs, are returning from past seasons, including Marcelo Lehninger, who opens the season, JoAnn Falletta and Bramwell Tovey.
Others, like Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra, and Stephen Mulligan, associate conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, were booked for last season but didn’t get to appear.
“It’s going to be a further exploration and getting-to-know-you process,” said Concertmaster Daniel Jordan.
On many levels, the music is reminiscent of Vivaldi mixed with Johann Sebastian, but the genteel fabric, most notably in the slow movement, is tossed up by awkward elbow jabs of sound. It is vigorous and edgy, posing plenty of finger challenges for the violins. Happily, there is never a dull moment in this score.
C.P.E Bach offers a more refined style, sensitive and more gracious, fitting with early classical music developed later by Haydn and Mozart. Unfortunately, we don’t hear his music often, and after experiencing this Cello Concerto in A Major (Wq 172), I am dumbfounded as to why.