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The Mostly Mozart concert on Saturday
began with La
Sindone ("The
Shroud"), by Arvo
Part. Fortunately, it only lasted ten minutes.
This is the type of avant-garde, dissonant sound
that gives modern music a bad name. The first five
minutes were blissfuly almost soundless followed by
five minutes that can only be described as noise.
The second work was the lovely Clarinet Concerto
in A major, K.622, by Mozart,
with a fine soloist Martin
Frost. It
was a delight to hear, but not a pleasure to watch.
He is definitely a superb musician. However, Frost
was in perpetual motion, turning left, and then
right, constantly bending forward, and straightening
up. He appeared to be like a puppet on a string. He
granted the enthusiastic audience a short
encore. The program concluded with a stirring
interpretation of Symphony
No. 4 in B-flat major, by Beethoven.
The orchestra never played better, under the baton
of Paavo
Jarvi.
The next program of Mostly Mozart
was an interesting one. It featured three works by Mozart.
It began with Symphony
No. 1 in E-flat major, K.16, which Mozart wrote
at the tender age of 8-years-old. It is a short
piece lasting 13 minutes, but it reveals the amazing
genius of the young prodigy. Piano
Concerto No. 12 in A major, K.414, with
the distinguished pianist Richard
Goode, is
not one of Mozart's better concertos, but it is
pleasant, and Goode gave a fine interpretation of
the piece. The program finished with, perhaps,
Mozart's most magnificent Symphony
No. 41 in C major, K.551. Thus
we enjoyed his first and last symphonies. The
orchestra, as always, played wonderfully, with Louis
Langree conducting.
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MoMA is presenting Gaumont: Cinema
pour tout le monde until September 7. This
series of French films will delight avid filmgoers. Pieges (Personal
Column), by Robert
Siodmak, France, 1939, is a murder mystery,
starring Maurice
Chevalier, as
a wealthy cabaret owner, and a magnificent cast of
characters. Young women keep disappearing in Paris.
The charming Chevalier is a suspect. The police hire
a beautiful taxi dancer to help them answer personal
ads in the newspapers, and assist them in finding
the murderer. The film has witty, intelligent
dialogue, and Chevalier, in a serious role, finds
time to sing two charming songs in his own
inimitable style. The film is a delight from start
to finish.
Oh! Que Mambo!,
by John
Berry, France/Italy.m1959, is a comedy about
a chubby bank employee (Dario
Moreno who
was. apparently, a popular Turkish singer) and
his domineering wife. A stuttering robber is
caught trying to rob his bank by two bumbling
detectives, and Moreno gets the credit. He
celebrates alone in a night club, where the sexy
entertainer invites him to join her on stage to
sing the title song with her. Her sleazy manager
persuades him that he will become a singing
star. The story is so silly that it is not worth
describing, and the 82-minute film is not worth
seeing.
I attended a press event for All
The Ways To Say I Love You, by Neil
LaBute, a one-woman play starring Judith
Light, directed by Leigh
Silverman. I photographed the three of
them. It will open the MCC Theater's 30th
Anniversary Season at the Lucille Lortel
Theatre, 131 Christopher St, on September 28.
I eagerly await the opening night.
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