Is it a cadenza when two instruments, in this case flute and
harp as we heard last night at the Philharmonic, play unaccompanied? Those were
the highlights of the Mozart concerto for flute and harp, those duo passages in
each movement. Harpist Yolanda
Kondonassis’s music stand was pulled up
close to her hands muffling the instrument so from where we sat in row D, seats
we’ve held down for decades, the balance with flutist Demarre McGill was
somewhat off. Even so, it was a bravura performance.
It was all
Mozart all the time. The concerto was preceded by the air ball String Divertimenti
and followed by the soaring Prague Symphony, No. 38, the best part of the
evening. The orchestra, always excellent, seemed particularly inspired. Was it
guest conductor David Allen Miller? Or was it Mozart whose music always seems when
played live to draw out the best an orchestra has to offer? Whatever, the
audience was on its feet at the end, a very well deserved ovation for a
brilliant performance.
