A choice selection of classical fare at 23rd Mozart Fest
The Woodstock Mozart Festival's 23rd season runs Saturday, Aug. 1, to Sunday, Aug. 16, at the Woodstock Opera House. Each weekend will feature orchestral concerts at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, preceded by artist and conductor introductions. A 2 p.m. duo-piano recital will take place on Saturday, Aug. 1. A chamber music sampler concert at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, replaces the preconcert discussions during the third and final weekend of the festival.
On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 1-2, conductor Maxim Eshkanazy will be joined by duo-pianists Genova and Dimitrov in a program that will begin with Mozart's Fourth Symphony, K. 19. Genova and Dimitrov will perform Mendelssohn's Concerto in E Major for Two Pianos; and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4, "Italian," will complete the program. The Sunday afternoon concert of this program will be followed by a Master Class conducted by the duo-pianists. Maxim Eshkanazy is the assistant conductor of the Pacific Symphony in California and conducts often in his native Bulgaria.
At 2 p.m. Aug. 1, the two-piano recital will include Busoni's Overture to the opera "The Magic Flute"; his Duettino Concertante after Mozart; Mozart's Sonata in D Major, K. 448; and Liszt's "Reminiscences of Don Juan."
On Aug. 8-9, the concerts for the second weekend of the festival will be led by conductor Arthur Arnold with a program including Mozart's Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 (125a); Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 9 in C Major, Swiss, and Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings.
On Aug. 15-16, three concerts are scheduled including a Chamber Music Sampler Concert matinee at 2 p.m. Aug. 15, and orchestral performances at 8 p.m. Aug. 15, and 3 p.m. Aug. 16. The evening concert on Saturday, Aug. 15, and the Sunday afternoon concert on Aug. 16 will again feature Peskanov, this time as violinist and conductor in Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins in B Minor, RV 580; Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in B-flat Major, BWV1051; Mozart's Adagio in E Major, K. 261, and Rondo in B-flat Major, K. 269 (261a). He will continue in three works by Pablo de Sarasate: Habanera, Zapataedo and Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43. Flutists Robin Fellows and Janice Bjorkman will be featured in the Brandenburg Concerto.
Festival tickets are available at the Woodstock Opera House Box Office. Costs $20 -$55. Orders for tickets can be made with Visa, Mastercard and Discover by calling (815) 338-5300, online at www.woodstockoperahouse.com.