The UK’s longest-established chamber orchestra is bringing its world-class sound to the South West in the first of a new concert series organised by The Arts Institute at the University of Plymouth.
The London Mozart Players will perform three contrasting works by the composer in the Minster Church of St Andrews on Saturday 9 March.
The event is the first in a new concert programme for Plymouth named Musica Viva. The series is the brainchild of The Arts Institute’s Music Director, American concert pianist and scholar Dr Robert Taub, who will join the Players on stage to perform the dramatic Mozart Piano Concerto in D Minor, K.466.
Dr Taub will also lead an informal pre-concert talk with members of the London Mozart Players, and a reception where the audience can meet the musicians will follow the performance. The talk and overall relaxed approach are key elements of Taub’s vision to revitalise Plymouth’s classical music scene.
Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the group has been associated with some of the biggest names in classical music and regularly performs in London’s top concert halls. It enjoys an international reputation and tours extensively, most recently to Dubai and Hong Kong in 2018, as well as recording frequently for leading labels.
The evening will open with the playful Serenade No.6 in D Major, K.239 Serenata Notturna, and the triumphant Symphony No.41 in C Major, K.551 Jupiter will conclude the programme.
Dr Taub said:
“The London Mozart Players are in a class of the very best London ensembles. Although there are about 25 musicians for this concert, they play without a conductor. That’s very unusual, but because they are so coherent and so cohesive in their approach, they can do it."
He added:
“With the inauguration of Musica Viva, we’re saying to everyone in the community and the region that we value you as audiences, we want you back and attending these great concerts. The series is bringing internationally acclaimed performers to Plymouth, and we’re going beyond the concert platform by including informal pre-concert talks and other informal educational events.
“We want people to be able to enjoy the music, which can be appreciated on many different levels anyway, and by understanding a bit more about the circumstances surrounding the creation of the pieces and the composers’ artistic vision, everyone’s appreciation can be enhanced. I take great pleasure in sharing with audiences aspects of interpretative decisions in pre-concert talks, so that we all share more of the greatness of the creative processes, and the music itself.”
Musica Viva continues with a visit by the Dante Quartet in May, and in autumn Randall Scarlata, a top US baritone who was shortlisted for this year’s Grammy awards, will sing Schubert’s Winterreise cycle at the University’s Sherwell Centre.
Further ahead, in February 2020 Musica Viva is staging a co-production with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and in March next year the series will put on a world premiere of a new music drama written as part of the Mayflower 400 commemorations at the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
To book tickets for the London Mozart Players, go to https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/music-london-mozart-players
