January 23, 2019 | UHCL Staff
In just 35 short years on Earth, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed over 600 works, including 41 symphonies, writing the last three within about six weeks at the end of his life. On Feb. 7 at 7:30 at University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Bayou Theater, Mercury will perform its own special interpretation of these three masterpieces. Antoine Plante, the orchestra’s artistic director, says these three works are part of the ‘golden age’ of Mozart and bringing these symphonies together in a trio shows how one person could compose music that impacts the world profoundly, even more than 200 years after his death.
“Sometimes, someone comes along who’s exceptional and has been touched by God,” Plante said. “Two centuries later, we are still thinking about his work. His music touches the human spirit and makes the sounds that make you appreciate the beauty of life.”
Symphony No. 39, Plante said, starts slowly with a French overture, borrowed from the Baroque era, where they often were the opening movement of an opera. “This was the time when the king would have walked in slowly,” he said. “That is the inspiration for the introduction of this piece. There are plays on instrumentation. Mozart did not use oboes, so the sound is sweeter.”
Symphony No. 40, one of Mozart’s only symphonies written in a minor key, has a very well-known melody. “The audience will feel familiar with this one,” Plante said.
Mozart did not give Symphony No. 41 the nickname “Jupiter,” although it’s often called by that name. The first three chords of the full orchestra are associated with the ancient Roman god of sky and thunder. “Mozart brings back the oboe and the trumpets in this one, and the first movement feels like a military fanfare,” he said. “The closing shows the influence of Johann Sebastian Bach on Mozart’s work. Mozart rarely does this, because it is as things go in our culture. What’s really popular in one generation, the next one will fight. They don’t want to listen to their parents’ music, but here, Mozart went back to it as something good and still worth remembering.”
As always, Mercury puts its own unique impression on each of its performances. “Our twist is always about quality,” he said. “In this case, we have the best musicians from around the country using period instruments. We are bringing that experience to Clear Lake.”
Also, Plante said, Mercury offers the audience accessibility in the way that he speaks directly to them, breaking the wall between the orchestra and them and creating ambience. “We stand up, we play dynamically. We believe that a dynamic, emotional commitment to the music is at the core of all our performances. This is what makes it a meaningful and profound experience.”
