Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra – Lionel Bringuier, conductor; David Fray, piano. August 6, 2010.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, First Tier (Seat 10Box8, $30).

Program
Overture to Cosi fan tutte, K.588 (1789-90) by Mozart (1756-1791).
Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K.482 (1785).
Symphony No. 38 in D major, K.504 (“Prague”) (1786).

This is an all-Mozart program consisting of work done by the composer during the last few years of his life when he had reached yet another level of maturity. By this time Vienna had begun to abandon Mozart and thus hastened his decline in health and financial well-being. One city that continued to appreciate him was Prague, and the Symphony tonight was premiered in that city to great acclaim.

The Program Notes tried to make the case that there was a serious side to Cosi fan tutte by saying there are some “sharp satiric barbs” in the humor. That may well be the cases, but for a casual listener like myself the barbs are too well-hidden. I remember coming away disappointed at seeing the opera several years ago. The overture, quite short at 5 minutes, is quite enjoyable though. The orchestra did a nice job.

I heard David Fray a few months ago. I still remember him using a regular chair (which he did again), and being not very impressed with his playing – not enough panache is what I wrote down. He had some early jitters during the first movement (Allegro) but the first movement was generally well done. My one complaint would be too much use of the pedal which made the music less crisp than it could be. The second movement (Andante), however, was quite the opposite. He seemed to overestimate his ability to string a legato line together, but his infrequent use of the pedal made the music sound a bit disjointed. The third movement (Allegro) was the best of them all. The timpanist found out his low drum was not quite tuned correctly right after the start of the second and it was funny to see him make adjustments as the piece progressed. He did manage to get it right, after a few tries. The cadenzas were written by Edwin Fischer.

I had a much more positive view of the Orchestra after Wednesday’s concert. By this time, however, I was ready to re-evaluate my assessment. Perhaps it was the number of performances they have given, or the number of times I have heard them, they began to sound just so-so. Another possible cause was the conductor, a young French man. He is the “lead the beat” type, but I am not sure the Orchestra is comfortable enough with him. Thus many entrances sounded tentative.

The “Prague” Symphony consists of three movements: Adagio-Allegro, Andante, and Finale: Presto. The Program Notes mentions that this is the only “mature” Mozart symphony where there is no Minuet dance movement. The music is performed pleasantly enough, but one wonders how much better it would sound if the orchestra didn’t show any hesitation.

So, just like last year, my take is that this is a concert not in the “don’t miss” category.