An eclectic programme from the London Mozart Players under the baton of US Conductor Bedros Shetilian draws together three works from the twentieth century juxtaposed with Mendelssohn’s romantic violin concerto.
Bartok’s arrangement of dances from Transylvania will bring thecolourful variety of Romanian villages to life in the heart of London’s St John’s Smith Square. By contrast Shostakovich’s elegiac String Quartet No. 8, known as his Chamber Symphony, is a powerful and personal workinfused with sorrow that reflects his ownlife under the harsh circumstances created by the USSR’s totalitarian system, and which the composer could not hear without weeping. Another change of mood again, this time with Prokofiev’s dazzling neo-classical first symphony, which was written as atribute to Haydnand Mozart to counter the lush romanticism of Wagner,while reinventing the symphony for the twentieth century.
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, his last major work, is a cornerstone of the repertoire. From the fast and passionate opening with its haunting melodyand breathtaking cadenza through to the thrilling coda of the final movement, there is quicksilver beauty in every bar. Brilliant young violinist Julia Pusker, one of the Hungary’s finest musicians and a founding member of the Ensemble Mirage, which featured in the 2016/17 St John’s Smith Square Young Artists’ series, will give a virtuoso performance of this beloved work.