United States Mozart, Beethoven – ‘Magnificently Mozart’: Andrew Schwartz (bassoon), Petra Somlai (fortepiano), American Classical Orchestra / Thomas Crawford (conductor). Alice Tully Hall, New York, 7.5.2025. (RP)

Mozart – Symphony No.35 in D major, K.385 ‘Haffner’; Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K.191
Beethoven – Piano Concerto No.4 in G major, Op.58
Thomas Crawford led the American Classical Orchestra in ‘Magnificently Mozart’ for its season finale at Alice Tully Hall. The title is a misnomer, as in addition to Mozart’s ‘Haffner’ Symphony and his Bassoon Concerto, the program included Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.4. A crowd-pleaser of a concert for sure, but this was no ordinary performance.
Founded in 1994, the ACO is one of New York’s premier period-instrument ensembles. Hearing the three works performed on period instruments was an invitation to experience them as people might have done when they were new and fresh, not weighed down by modern sonorities and their status as masterpieces.
The concert began with Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, which the composer initially conceived as a serenade to be performed at the ennoblement ceremony for Sigmund Haffner, an important figure in Salzburg and a childhood friend and benefactor of the young Mozart. Although the request came from his father, Leopold, Mozart delayed, and the work was late, arriving after the fact. There is no evidence that it was ever performed in Salzburg. Mozart reworked it into a symphony, which received immediate acclaim from the press, public and the emperor at its first performance in 1783.
Mozart wanted the first movement with its octave leaps to be played with great fire, and Crawford and the ACO did as instructed. Despite the more mellow sounds produced by the period instruments, the orchestra played with impressive clarity and articulation in the contrapuntal sections. Crawford instilled grace and delicacy into the sublime Andante, while the loud-soft scheme of the Menuetto emerged glorious and grand, with an especially light and scintillating trio section. Whether Crawford drove the orchestra to play as fast as possible in the final movement, as Mozart wished, is immaterial: it was high-spirited and exciting.
Mozart was 18 when he wrote the Bassoon Concerto, but it is the work of a mature composer eager to flex his musical muscles with traditional forms. He was composing for a new instrument: the bassoon had only appeared as a distinct instrument in the mid-eighteenth century. Originally, the bassoon had only three or four keys, but soon ones with six keys began to appear, and the instrument’s design was refined and standardized. It was during this period of rapid evolution of the bassoon that Mozart composed the concerto.
Andrew Schwartz was the soloist for this performance, playing a reproduction of a historical bassoon. He performs with orchestras in the US and Europe, both as principal bassoonist and soloist. For 14 summers, Schwartz was principal bassoonist with the Drottningholm Slottsteater Royal Court Orchestra in Sweden, which specializes in Mozart operas on original instruments. That experience showed, as Schwartz spun the Mozart as beautifully as any singer could.
The concerto is not just beautiful melodies. It is also funny at times, especially the leaps over the entire range of the instrument which exploit the bassoon’s lowest notes. Schwartz played it all with equal aplomb and virtuosity. The earthy, low blats would have delighted Mozart, who had a taste for scatological humor. Those notes alone could have earned Schwartz the standing ovation that he received.
The Piano Concerto No.4 in G major was the last work of its kind that Beethoven would premiere as a soloist due to his rapidly deteriorating hearing. Its first performance in 1807 was at the home of Prince Lobkowicz, his friend and patron, with the pubic premiere taking place the following year. The next performance would not be until 1836, at a concert arranged by Mendelssohn in his efforts to revive under-appreciated works.
As with Mozart and his Bassoon Concerto, Beethoven composed the Piano Concerto No.4 when the instrument was evolving rapidly. He owned various fortepianos throughout his lifetime, but the modern grand piano was not one of them – it was developed decades later. That is the sound we have in our ears, but Beethoven composed for an instrument that had a much lighter, mellow, elegant sound. Hearing Petra Somlai perform the solo part on the pianoforte was a revelation.
Somlai performs regularly at major international early music concerts in Europe, the Americas and Asia. If muscular Beethoven is your cup of tea, this performance was not for you, although Somlai drew some dark, dramatic sounds from the lower ranges of the instrument. Those looking for expressiveness, depth of emotion and impeccable technique got what they hoped for in this performance.
The hall was not silent and still when Somlai began playing the opening theme of the first movement. That changed in an instant due to the mesmerizing sounds emerging from the pianoforte. At the start, there were lapses in coordination between the soloist and orchestra, but that quickly corrected itself. Tenderness and lyricism were the hallmarks of Somlai’s approach to the music, but when force was required, she delivered with passion and firmness rather than aggression.
In the cadenzas, Somlai cast a spell with the brilliance of her technique in the more virtuosic passages and the purity of sound in the more lyrical ones. The concluding Rondo was lively, without ever being grandiose. With the entry of the trumpets and drums, the orchestral textures and colors grew richer and bolder. For Somlai and Crawford, volume was never a means to an end in this performance, but eloquence was.
Rick Perdian
Featured Image: Conductor Thomas Crawford with American Classical Orchestra © ACO