Past and Present

About

Grieg’s music somehow always satisfies the soul. And so it is with one of his greatest works, his homage to Danish author Ludwig Holberg, a contemporary of Bach, Handel and Scarlatti. Grieg fashioned his suite in the image of the music Holberg would have heard in his times. The recently rediscovered C Major Concerto consists of sturdy, confident music, written with a wonderfully developed sense for what the cello can do. It shows that Haydn’s pleasure in odd phrase lengths and other rhythmic surprises was part of his musical personality from the beginning. The music is delightful in detail and masterful in design.

On all counts, Mozart’s Symphony No.29 is a fine specimen of gallant writing: poised, polite and faithful to the Viennese classical balance between grace and energy. Its light-hearted charm and elegance intends a work which is truly meant to entertain and delight. Mozart’s ability to draw the maximum of colour and expression out of a very small orchestra is outstanding. Celebrated as “the real thing”, Jonathan Leshnoff ’s music has been lauded as “distinct from anything else that’s out there.” Cohesively constructed and radiantly lyrical, his compositions have earned international acclaim for their striking harmonies, structural complexity, and powerful themes.