CD REVIEW
– SARAH
WILLIS : MOZART Y MAMBO
Alpha ALPHA578
(54:43)
Here is a fun
album combining works for French
horn by top classical tunesmith W
A Mozart with traditional Cuban
music. It is the brainchild of
British-French-US born, Sarah
Willis, who is a member of the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
horn section, and a presenter of
TV and online classical music
programmes.
Sarah fell in love
with the Cuban people and their
music when she was asked on her
first visit to give a French horn
masterclass. Remarkably, there is
a statue of Mozart in Old Havana
and Sarah was told "Mozart
would have been a good
Cuban". The comment
intrigued her and inspired this
CD.
The centrepiece of
the album is a top-notch
performance of Mozart’s Horn
Concerto No.3, K.447*. This
is joined by his Concerto
Movement for Horn in E-Flat
Major, K.370b and Rondo
in E-flat Major, K.371 for Horn
and Orchestra.
The home-grown
pieces are Sarahnade Mambo
based on Wolfgang Amadeus's Eine
Kleine Nachtmusik, featuring
the six-piece Sarahbanda founded
by the hornist; Perez Prado's Qué
Rico el Mambo with Sarah and
the 14 strong Havana Horns
Ensemble, which she also created;
Rondo alla Mambo,
inspired by the third movement of
the above concerto; and two
best-loved Cuban Songs (no
vocals): Dos Gardenias
and an 8½-minute El Manisero
(The Peanut-Seller).
Sarah is very well
accompanied by the four-year-old
Havana Lyceum Orchestra, under
its founding music director and
"exuberant" conductor
José Antonio Méndez Padrón
(Pepe). A number of famous local
musicians also take part in the
recording, only made in January
this year at Havana's Oratorio
San Felipe Neri. It is
disappointing that such an
inventive project with so much
talent should not have used more
of the remaining 26 minutes
available on the disc.
The digipak
booklet, including commentary on
each track by Sarah herself and
nine pages of excellent colour
photos, is a model of its kind.
As someone who
delights in the sound of the
French horn and for whom the
Austrian master is a favourite
composer – also having a
liking for music from this part
of the world – I found this
a joyous release and
wholeheartedly commend it. An
added incentive to purchase is
that part of the proceeds from
the disc will go to towards
buying instruments for the
musicians of the Orquesta del
Lyceum de La Habana.
(* The 'K' in
Mozart's works is a chronological
catalogue of his compositions,
originally created by Ludwig von
Kochel).
© Peter
Burt 2020
Tony Clayden
adds:-
I heard a couple of tracks from
this CD played a week or two ago
on Classic FM – it's Mozart
like you've never heard him
before ! If he's listening up
there, I'm sure that he
whole-heartedly approves and
it’s definitely on my 'wish
list'.
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