Mostly Mozart: Bartók, Vivaldi and... Scandinavian folk music?

By David Wolfson, 28 July 2019

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“Kuusisto brought an easy, genial, informal presence and a seemingly effortless virtuosity”

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: Wu Tsai Theater, David Geffen Hall, New York City on 27 July 2019

Bartók, Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68

Vivaldi, The Four Seasons (Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione), Op.8 no. 1-4

Traditional music from Finland, Norway, and Hungary,

Knut Sundquist, Double Bass

Pekka Kuusisto, Violin

Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra

Andrew Manze, Conductor

Louis Langrée begins final week with Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra

David Wolfson, 8th August

Langrée's incoherent but enjoyable program skips through five centuries of music history from Lully to Valerie Coleman.

***11

Contrasting halves from Mostly Mozart Orchestra and Heyward

Edward Sava-Segal, 4th August

Jessie Montgomery's 2016 Records from a Vanishing City enthralls, Barber’s Violin Concerto is exquisite; Schumann's Rhenish disappoints.

***11

In New York, Gemma New makes “Mostly Mozart” mostly magic

David Wolfson, 1st August

Gemma New makes a positive impressive in the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra's lively rendition of the “Prague” Symphony.

****1

Langrée pairs ambitious premiere with uneven Mass at Mostly Mozart

David Wolfson, 25th July

The world premiere of Iraqi-American composer Amir ElSaffar's ambitious Dhikra (Remembrance) very nearly succeeds in its ambitions.

****1

Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra offers a Requiem for itself

David Wolfson, 5th August

Amid an uncertain future for the Mostly Mozart Festival, conductor Louis Langrée led a fiery program that overflowed with rage rather than grief.

****1

Mozart and Brahms shine in a bold, romantic glow

Linda Holt, 30th July

Romanticized but highly enjoyable Mozart performances, monumental Brahms, but more gusto than tenderness characterized the program.

****1

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David Wolfson

David Wolfson holds a PhD in composition from Rutgers University, and has taught at Rutgers University, Montclair State University and Hunter College. He is enjoying an eclectic career, having composed opera, musical theatre, touring children’s musicals, and incidental music for plays; choral music, band music, orchestral music, chamber music, art songs, and music for solo piano; comedy songs, cabaret songs and one memorable score for an amusement park big-headed-costumed-character show. You can find more information here.