The Dryden Ensemble will present “Mozart's Birthday”. Tickets are available at the door or may be purchased online at http://www.drydenensemble.org.
In 1781, Mozart left the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg to pursue his artistic freedom by freelancing in Vienna, against the wishes of his father Leopold. Mozart’s early years in Vienna, the focus of this program, proved to be a critical juncture in the composer's life and led to the creation of his most brilliant works. The program opens with an 18th-century arrangement of the 1782 wind serenade known as the "Gran Partita” for oboe, strings and fortepiano, and concludes with the Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major (K. 493) of 1786, written just a month after Mozart completed The Marriage of Figaro. Einstein once described the first theme of the quartet's rondo as "the purest, most childlike and godlike melody ever sung."
Fortepianist Dongsok Shin will perform on a reproduction of an instrument Mozart purchased in the early 1780s, now preserved in the Mozarthaus in Salzburg. Mr. Shin was born in Boston and has played the piano since he was four. Since the early 1980s, he has specialized exclusively on early keyboard instruments. Now in his 16th year as the keyboard player for the internationally acclaimed baroque ensemble REBEL, he has appeared with ARTEK, Concert Royal, Mark Morris Dance Group, New York Collegium, New York Philharmonic, Early Music New York’s Grande Bande, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Pro Musica Rara, and the American Classical Orchestra, among others. He has accompanied artists such as Renee Fleming, Rufus Müller, and Barthold Kuijken. He has toured throughout North America, Europe, and Mexico, has been heard on many radio broadcasts, and has recorded for Bridge, Ex Cathedra, Lyrichord, Newport Classic, Helicon, ATMA Classique and Dorian Recordings.
The Dryden Ensemble will also include Jane McKinley on classical oboe, Vita Wallace on violin, Andrea Andros on viola, and Lisa Terry on violoncello.
For additional information about the Dryden Ensemble, visit http://www.drydenensemble.org.
