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March 29, 2007
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King of the classical jungle March is supposed to go out like a lion, but if you?re not into wildlife, try ending the month with Mozart, king of the classical jungle. On Saturday, March 31, the Nashua Symphony Association will stage a concert devoted entirely to Mozart, whose immense body of work (he only lived to age 35) is today regarded as one of the great musical miracles of all time. Why? Hard to sum up in a sentence, but there?s a line from Peter Shaffer?s 1979 play Amadeus that sticks in my mind. In it, rival composer Antonio Salieri grouses that Mozart?s music is ?finished as most other music is never finished.? That seems true to me, and complete. For musicians, Mozart at his best is an endless source of wonder at just how perfectly arranged everything is, whether it?s a simple children?s piece for piano or a complex work for full orchestra. It follows all the rules, but also knows exactly when to break them. And for listeners, Mozart is simply what classical music is supposed to sound like ? elegant, refined, well-proportioned, full of memorable tunes, and with occasional glimpses into the terror that lurks beneath the highly polished surface. Really. I have a Mozart biography from 1995 by scholar Maynard Solomon, who writes lucidly about music, composers and psychology. Solomon?s book introduces us to the demons that must have dogged Mozart during his short but intensely conflicted life. After reading the book, it?s hard to hear Mozart?s at-times deceptively simple melodies and not sense how they come from an inner place that most of us avoid, but which Mozart seemed compelled to dwell in. You can hear this, more or less, in all of the works scheduled for this Saturday?s concert, essentially a choral program accompanied by a chamber group. That?s good news, because with Mozart, bigger isn?t better. Smaller ensembles are the way to really hear the wonders of Mozart with clarity. Led by conductor Diane Cushing, the group will perform pieces from throughout the composer?s career, from the youthful Missa Brevis in F to the haunting Ave Verum Corpus, one of the last works Mozart penned prior to his untimely death in 1791. The concert is Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church in Nashua. Admission is $20, seniors $15, students $10. For tickets and info, call 595-9156 or visit www.nashuasymphony.org. |
3/22/2007 We still got the stuff 3/15/2007 Three cities, three schools
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