Review: THE MAINLY MOZART FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA WITH GUITARIST MAK GRGIC at The Conrad In La Jolla

It was a listener-friendly concert, well designed, conducted and performed. Michael Francis, Mainly Mozart's Music Director and Conductor for more than a decade, captured the music’s every mood from melancholy to uninhibited joy.

The major pieces on the program were the world’s most popular guitar concerto, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, and Mendelssohn’s fourth symphony, the well-known “Italian.” Less familiar but charming shorter works served as openers in each case.

When guitarist Mak Grgic spoke briefly with Conductor Francis, he said it was a pleasure to play with the world’s finest orchestra. It’s easy to dismiss that as a guest’s friendly hyperbole, but it’s not easy to prove it isn’t true.

This year’s Mainly Mozart All-Star Festival Orchestra includes many of the United States’ best orchestra musicians. Ten are concert masters. Almost all of the others are either associate concertmasters or principals. The orchestra’s size varies depending on the program. On this afternoon it was just under 40.

While that may seem less than ideal for Mendelssohn’s symphony, it wasn’t. The Conrad is an intimate space with fantastic acoustics, and Francis and his musicians were convincing in even the symphony’s forte moments.

Arturo Márquez’ Danzón No. 4 was the Latin appetizer for the Roderigo concerto. Mexican composer Márquez has written a series of nine Danzóns. He first became known to a broader base of classical music lovers when Gustavo Dudamel performed and recorded the second, and it’s become a concert favorite for the uninhibited joy of its Mexican dance-hall rhythms.

Though using those same rhythms, the fourth Danzón is more elegant and warmly enticing. Woodwinds dominate for much of its roughly 10-minute length. Whitney Crockett, a Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal, set the mood with a sensual bassoon solo. The afro-Cuban clave rhythm was set by Jauvon Gilliam, Percussion Principle of the National Symphony, and the concert was underway with a touch of Latin pleasures.

The following Concierto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo featured virtuoso guitarist Mak Grgic who gave a flawless, idiomatic performance, a perfect blend of flamenco and classical guitar. The outer movements were lively, the first a brash joyful celebration, the last a playful bubbling conclusion.

In between came one of the most romantically beautiful movements in classical music, strong competition for the middle movement of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto. Jazz fans will remember trumpeter Miles Davis’s interpretation on his Sketches of Spain album.

After acknowledging standing ovations, Grgic returned for an encore, Miroslav Tadic’s Chicho, a contemporary tour de force that demonstrated the guitarist's impressive mastery of guitar technique.

After intermission, the opening act for Mendelssohn’s symphony was a collection of Mozart contredanses (country dances) in the composer’s own impishly clever and entertaining orchestrations. While chamber Music Composer to Emperor Joseph II, Mozart wrote the lively dances to satisfy a requirement for pieces masked dancers could enjoy in the ballrooms of Empress Maria Theresa.

Francis, his band, and the audience laughed and smiled their way through Contredanses K. 535 (“The Battle”), and K. 609. A fleet performance of an orchestration of the "Turkish March" from Mozart’s 11th Piano Sonata was the finishing touch. The Empress would have been dancing in the aisles.

Mendelssohn made a 10-month visit to Italy in 1830. The "Italian" symphony is his decidedly positive musical description of an Italian vacation. That’s evident in the first movement’s joyous excitement. It always reminds me of the composer’s Overture to A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Francis added to the excitement with a challenging tempo that proved his musicians deserve the positions they hold in the nation’s finest orchestras.  

The Andante con moto of the second movement recalls Italy’s religious solemnity, timeless art, and stunning architecture. While in Rome, Mendelssohn witnessed the coronation of Pope Pius VIII and Holy Week festivities. These are recalled with a somber melody over a bass line that alternates with contrasting major-key sections.

A leisurely minuet follows for strings and winds before a finale based on a rousing Neapolitan saltarello, a popular Italian folk dance with steps that include jumping from one foot to the other. It shows Mendelssohn’s admiration for the vigor and friendly nature of the Italians he met. The first movement’s opening theme is recalled as the symphony ends.

And at its end, enthusiastic applause from the sold out audience brought Conductor Francis back to the stage for three well-deserved curtain calls.

Visit the Mainly Mozart website for a calendar of the remainder of the organizations Summer Festival.

Photo credits Ken Jacques

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