Sonntagsmatinee 1, Mozarteum Orchester - Großes Festspielhaus Salzburg

Performance 5th October

After my well-deserved holiday in september I attended the first sunday's matinee of the Mozarteum Orchester. On the programme: Mozart's symphony no. 39 in e-flat major, Strauss' four last songs and Don Quixotte. During the Mozart symphony the conductor, Ivor Bolton, managed to show many different aspects of the score with great finesse and taste. Same can be said for the Strauss tone poem. The different themes were played very clearly and the dynamics were really impressing. Unfortunately the songs were a little bit disappointing due to the loud orchestra. Soprano Genia Kühmeier sang very beautifully and started with maybe the best rendition of Frühling I ever heard LIVE. Her warm timbre and her flawless phrases matched perfectly with the vocal line and gave a really tremendous impression. From the louder parts to the delicate pianissimi in the score Kühmeier sang everything very sublimely and with great atmosphere. Unfortunately Bolton was not able to keep the orchestra under control and so Kühmeier was covered several times during soft passages (which was definitely not because she couldn't sing louder, but because of the loud orchestra). It was really a pity because she genuinely sang marvellous. Nevertheless I liked the performance a lot because of the sheer beauty of Kühmeier's rendition. Her Beim Schlafengehen was melancholic and mature, her Im Abendrot touching and noble. I can clearly say that I liked Kühmeier's interpretation more than the other renditions I heard LIVE (Mattila, Harteros, Tilling).
The whole performance obtains 7 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- - -