Amalia Hall Photo: Scottie Peng
This performance was recorded at ‘Amalia & Friends’, a series of concerts to celebrate the return of live music, and the important place it has in all our lives, after the Covid-19 lockdown.
In some ways, these concerts approach the experience that Mozart’s original audiences would have enjoyed. Many of his works were performed in churches, or in cathedrals such as the one in Salzburg, where Mozart was employed. His music was written with these kind of spaces in mind, with the soft, rich resonance that high ceilings, wooden beams and ornate plasterwork provide. Other works were premièred in the private salons of his wealthy patrons, making them an intimate experience for small audiences who could observe the performers closely. Mozart would lead the performances from within the orchestra or as soloist, as Amalia Hall does here.
Mozart Violin Concerto No 5, Turkish
- Allegro Aperto
- Adagio
- Rondo: tempo di menuetto
In the course of writing only five violin concertos, Mozart arrived at this perfection. A taut, springy opening precedes the violin, which steals in with an unexpectedly slow entrance, the prelude to a beautiful conversation between soloist and orchestra. The slow movement is expansive, and may be based on an aria from Mozart’s opera 'The Abduction from The Seraglio'. The final movement is known as the Turkish; a surprisingly restrained minuet bookends a rowdier 'Turkish' section whose drone bass, stamping rhythm, and chromatic ornaments would have seemed exotic to Mozart’s listeners. (Notes: Erica Challis)
Recorded 6 June 2020, St Andrews on The Terrace, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Darryl Stack
