AUSTRALIAN HAYDN ENSEMBLE : MOZART’S HORN WITH CARLA BLACKWOOD : HUMOUR. FRIENDSHIP. BEAUTY

A device designed to frighten wolves?

Welcome to the sound-world that Mozart knew, as the Australian Haydn Ensemble (AHE) performs his ‘Jupiter’ and Horn Quintet on instruments that sound as close as possible to those the composer knew and loved. Explore both sides of Mozart’s mercurial nature, and marvel that a device designed to frighten wolves creates such glowing music.

Mozart loved the horn, and the finest player of the day, Joseph Leutgeb, was an old friend of the family. Mozart wrote what would become one of the most enduringly popular horn concertos of all time for his friend. Characterised as a “little love duet” between horn and violin, this work is a joyous expression of their friendship.
The program contains an even more virtuosic Quintet by Mozart’s Dutch contemporary Wilhelm Hauff, and includes the Romance in A major, an arrangement of one of Mozart’s Concerto movements, most likely by his dear and often penniless friend Michael Haydn.

AHE balances this bright period instrument cornucopia with perhaps the most emotionally troubled work that Mozart ever wrote: the magnificent String Quintet in G minor, a rare dark utterance from a steadfastly cheerfully natured artist.

There’s a happy end, of course, with the exuberant energy of the ‘Jupiter’ symphony, here in an historical chamber arrangement by Peter Lichtenthal.

Program

HAUFF
Horn Quintet in E flat major

MOZART
Allegro from String Quintet in G minor K. 516

MOZART
Horn Quintet in E flat major K. 407

MICHAEL HAYDN
Romance in A flat major for Horn and String Quartet MH806 (arr. from Mozart’s Horn Concerto)

MOZART
Symphony No. 41 K. 551 ‘Jupiter’ arr. Peter Lichtenthal

Artists

Carla Blackwood – Natural horn
Skye McIntosh – Artistic Director and violin
Matthew Greco, violin
Karina Schmitz, viola
Nicole Divall, viola
Daniel Yeadon, cello

Performances

ORANGE
Saturday 21 September, 7pm Orange Civic Theatre

BERRY

Friday 27 September, 7pm Berry Uniting Church Hall

THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

Tuesday 24 September, 7pm

http://www.sydneyaperahouse.com