Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducts Mozart and Mahler.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
On Friday afternoon, the Spanish conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos led the New York Philharmonic in a concert that focused squarely on the orchestra's famous horn section. This was the second concert to feature second program of Mr. Frühbeck's two weeks at Avery Fisher Hall this season, pairing lighter works by Mozart with Mahler's First Symphony.
With the Serenata Notturna, the Philharmonic players sounded much more at ease for Mr. Frühbeck then they had in the orchestra's previous Mozart concert this season. The Serenata borrows ideas from baroque music, pitting a small "Salzburg quartet" (two violins, viola and double bass) antiphonally against the rest of the orchestra.
Conducting from his customary stool, the 79-year old Mr. Frühbeck brought out the wit and good humor in this three-movement Serenade. Particularly entertaining: the last movement with its abrupt, seemingly random changes of phrase and tempo, its whiplash changes designed to trick the ear, and its virtuoso parts for the Salzburg quartet, whose contrast against the main orchestra is a forerunner of the Act I finale from Don Giovanni.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
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| The man with the horn: Philip Myers |
With the Serenata Notturna, the Philharmonic players sounded much more at ease for Mr. Frühbeck then they had in the orchestra's previous Mozart concert this season. The Serenata borrows ideas from baroque music, pitting a small "Salzburg quartet" (two violins, viola and double bass) antiphonally against the rest of the orchestra.
Conducting from his customary stool, the 79-year old Mr. Frühbeck brought out the wit and good humor in this three-movement Serenade. Particularly entertaining: the last movement with its abrupt, seemingly random changes of phrase and tempo, its whiplash changes designed to trick the ear, and its virtuoso parts for the Salzburg quartet, whose contrast against the main orchestra is a forerunner of the Act I finale from Don Giovanni.
