MOZART’S GRAN PARTITA
Wednesday 26 February 2014 at 7.30pm
Symphony Hall, Birmingham +44 (0)121 345 0600
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Karl-Heinz Steffens conductor
Guy Braunstein violin
Mozart: Gran Partita (Serenade for 13 wind instruments, K.361) 49′
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Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto 34′ Listen on Spotify
Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements 20′
Guy Braunstein’s encore – Kreisler – Schön Rosmarin
In the film Amadeus, when Mozart’s arch-rival Salieri hears his Gran Partita, he thinks he’s hearing the voice of God. Tonight, Karl-Heinz Steffens – a former principal clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic itself – leads the CBSO’s wind players to heaven. That’s just for starters, in a concert that features a performance of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, and Stravinsky’s punchy wartime symphony; music of chrome and steel, from the streets of LA. Pure sonic indulgence.
We are sorry to announce that Renaud Capucon has had to withdraw from this concert due to ill health. We are very grateful to Guy Braunstein for taking his place at short notice.
If you like this concert, you might also like:
Rachmaninov and Shostakovich, Thursday 8th May
Haydn and Mozart, Wednesday 14th May
Summer Serenade, Thursday 5th June
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Review by Norman Stinchcombe, Birmingham Post:
Click here for full review
“Built like a bricklayer and with a pugnacious playing manner to match, Guy Braunstein isn’t graceful – but his playing revealed the soul of a poet.
A late replacement for the ill Renaud Capuçon, who was to have played Glazunov, Braunstein’s performance of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto won many admirers; it eschewed outward glamour but got to the heart of the work.
In the canzonetta slow movement his violin line weaved magically together with the oboe and clarinet. His encore, Fritz Kreisler’s Schön Rosmarin was witty and slyly humorous.
The prominence of Tchaikovsky’s sensuous wind writing was no coincidence – conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens was formerly the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal clarinet.” …
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