Sydney Mozart Society | Frank Celata and Friends
March 31, 2022, The Concourse, Chatswood
Friends are always welcome particularly when they are musicians of the highest standard, and clarinetist Frank Celata is particularly lucky in this respect, but of course he is a musician of high repute himself.
In the latest Sydney Mozart Society concert at Chatswood we heard two very familiar works and one much less so.
The Theme and Variations in B for clarinet and strings has always been billed as being by Carl Von Weber but recently its attribution has been changed to Joseph Kuffner. Now, I have to admit that, no, it is not typical of Weber – but who designated it to Kuffner? He is a composer of mostly guitar and violin music so, why this is attributed to him I for one am unable to discern. No matter, it is an engaging work with the clarinet introducing the main theme and six variations which remain faithful to the original until a cadenza-like climax. Ola Rudner, whom I saw only a week ago in his conducting role, led the quartet immaculately.
Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet is familiar to many and excerpts have appeared in many films. Mozart became very attuned to the clarinet because of his good friend Anton Stadler and also wrote his concerto for him. The music flows so beautifully that it is difficult to believe that it was written for a slightly different instrument, the basset clarinet. The third movement has two trios and in the first, the second violinist, in this case Anna Skálová, is prominent. Skálová plays in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra but much of her career has been in the USA where she has won many awards. The last movement variations were also written by Mozart for the piano. The work in total sounds like a beacon of optimism which, for Mozart, was unfortunately not fulfilled.
Among Frank Celata’s friends for this concept was Catherine Hewgill, who has been playing her mellow cello (a Carlo Tononi 1729) for over thirty years and is a figurehead of Australian musicians. She can count Rostropovich among her tutors and has brushed aside a nasty accident to her right wrist in 2001. Apart from being principal cellist of the SSO she has been soloist in many concertos including the Dvořák and Brahms Double.
Also appearing was Tobias Breider who plays alongside Catherine as principal violist of the SSO having moved from his native Germany in 2011. He has played in numerous chamber groups and as soloist in, among others, Mozart’s Symphonie Concertante.
We then came to Schubert. I wonder what gave Schubert the idea to include a double bass in his “Trout Quintet” and even more why other composers since have not followed his example – I’m sure that Kees Boersma would feel likewise as this work gives him the chance to excel and not be drowned by other instruments. Kees is lecturer in bass at the Sydney Conservatorium and also performs in many chamber groups as well as a soloist. In fact the bass part is extensive though never intrusive and provides a beautiful balance to the work. Five sublime movements with innovative themes with the fourth movement, of course, being variations on the composer’s own lied “The Trout”.
I was particularly impressed by the pianism of Vivian Choi Milton – the piano is the dominant instrument of the work with many entries which have to be clear and precise. Vivian has been a keen proponent of modern classical music but showed a great feeling for this more traditional composition.
Long may the Sydney Mozart Society continue with such programmes, with enticing music played by brilliant artists.
