Perth Symphony Orchestra’s acclaimed Mozart by Candlelight is set to return on Friday, October 30 at Perth Concert Hall, featuring some of Mozart’s most loved pieces with a surprising yet contemporary twist.
The concert promises to satiate the most avid Mozart fans, with acclaimed virtuoso violinist and ensemble leader Paul Wright making his Perth Symphony debut on the viola in the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with Pascale Whiting on violin. Solos performed by horn player Julian Leslie, violist Katie McKay and oboist Stephanie Nicholls will display the breadth of talent Perth Symphony has to offer.
As well as popular Mozart favourites, the program includes several Australian premiere performances; Caroline Shaw’s Is a Rose, made famous by the Mozart in the Jungle television show and performed by the talented Perth singer Helen Shanahan; along with Michael Nyman’s Drowning by Numbers: Trysting Fields performed by soloists Paul Wright and Kathy Potter.
A WA premier performance of current American composer Nico Muhly’s Etude No 3 by Perth Symphony’s Kate McKay will provide audiences with a fresh and contemporary work to relish. This acclaimed work by Muhly features a rare mix of electronics and viola woven together in a classical music context, rarely heard alongside more traditional Mozart pieces.
Under the creative direction of PSO’s founder and CEO Bourby Webster, this concert promises to be anything but a traditional classical concert. With performances weaving together Mozart’s own intimate letters and notes to his loved ones, alongside music inspired by the highly acclaimed Mozart in the Jungle book and television series – providing a glimpse into the secret world of classical musicians.
Bourby describes her inspiration for the more revealing concert depicting musicians as “real” people: “I love that classical music and musicians are incredibly “human.” Their precision, poise, and discipline often means people perceive classical music and musicians as terribly “proper” – which any of us in the industry knows is just not the case. We are like anyone else, with as many flaws and scandals as we have triumphs and achievements.”
“Blair Tindall’s book, Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music really resonated with me” confesses Bourby. “So, I set the challenge of bringing this sense of “real life” into a Candlelit concert featuring stunning music by Mozart, and some of the pieces that appear in the TV iteration of Blair’s scandalous book.”
Perth Symphony Orchestra presents Mozart by Candlelight on Friday, October 30 at Perth Concert Hall. Click here for tickets.
