SOUTHERN CROSS SOLOISTS & BANGALOW FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA

Bangalow Music Festival

Christopher Dragon, Conductor

Tania Frazer, Oboe. Ashley Smith, Clarinet. Alex Miller, Horn. Adam Mikulicz, Bassoon.

Xenia Puskarz Thomas, Mezzo Soprano

Amalia Hall, Violin. Thomas Chawner, Viola

MOZART Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E-flat major, K. 297b

MOZART Arias from La finta giardiniera, K. 196

MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K. 364

A hybrid of the symphony and the concerto, the Sinfonia Concertante is a showpiece for multiple soloists engaging in conversation with each other and the orchestra. As a born musical democrat, Mozart embraced this concept and wrote six works for multiple soloists of absolutely equal billing. The iconic and seductive Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola, K. 364, is arguably one of Mozart’s greatest works, where the soloists continuously play off against each other, sometimes as competitors and other times as star-crossed lovers. The mysterious wind Sinfonia Concertante brings up more questions than answers with its unknown beginnings. Though it also celebrates the sense of give and take, as the four soloists engage in animated conversations throughout the piece. This concert also features the delightful mezzo soprano Xenia Puskarz Thomas, our 2019 Margaret Schindler Scholarship recipient, before she travels to New York in September.