CD REVIEW
– SARAH
WILLIS
MOZART y MAMBO : La Bella Cubana
Alpha Classics
ALPHA937 [66:26]
Espléndido! This
is the keenly anticipated third
(and, sadly, last) album
featuring Sarah Willis,
internationally renowned horn
player and prime mover in the
highly successful series, opening
the programme with a sparkling
rendition of WA Mozart's best
known Horn Concerto No.4,
so fulfilling her dream of
recording all the concertos. As
in the previous releases – 'Mozart y Mambo' and 'Mozart y
Mambo: Cuban Dances' – she is
well supported by the very
talented musicians of the Havana
Lyceum Orchestra under their
founder and conductor José
Antonio Méndez Padrón.
Next, no 'Mozart
y Mambo' release would be
complete without the seven
musicians of the Sarahbanda
ensemble, who once again play
alongside Willis to blend Mozart
with Afro-Cuban dance rhythms in Rondo
alla Rumba, by Edgar Olivero
(b 1985).
Then for the big
feature of the disc: Willis and
the HLO are joined in Cuba by
three principal wind players from
her orchestra, the Berlin
Philharmonic – Jonathan
Kelly (oboe), Wenzel Fuchs
(clarinet) and Stefan Schweigert
(bassoon) – for
Mozart’s Sinfonia
Concertante in E flat major for
Four Winds. They follow this
up with La Bella Cubana
(inspired by the Rondo of
Mozart's concerto above), a piece
by the Cuban violinist and
composer José White Lafitte
(1836-1918), arranged by his
countryman Jorge Aragón (b
1988). Evidently this is regarded
by Cubans as one of the most
important works of all time,
representing as it does the love
and nostalgia they feel for their
homeland.
The album is
brought to a fine finish with a
favourite of mine: the famous
piece of Cuban music, Guantanamera
by Joseito Fernández (1908-79),
in an eight-and-a-half minute
Aragón arrangement for horn, the
trumpet of HLO principal Harold
Madrigal Frias, the Sarahbanda
and Orchestra.
The booklet
maintains the high standard set
by the first two releases,
including Willis's introduction
and her notes on all the tracks
played, and 20 coloured
photographs. In his article, her
conductor friend Pepe Padrón
writes: "We will always be
grateful to Sarah and Alpha
Classics for this project that
has changed our lives and made us
better human beings and
musicians".
I would have liked
a bit more of that exuberant
Cuban music for my money on these
three albums but all credit to
the record company for taking on
the project after two big labels
turned the idea down. It is
remarkable that, while the
project has been an unanticipated
success, Willis has not earned a
penny. All the money she would
have made has gone to the HLO in
a fund she set up called
"Instruments for Cuba".
Good on her! And please remember
that every CD sold will again
help young Cuban music makers.
©
Peter Burt, September
2023
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