No more beautiful way to wrap up the annual small but nonetheless excellent 'Amazing Haydn' festival in Mechelen. For the third and final concert in the series, the Haydn Society called upon the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim and violinist Lena Neudauer.
The organizers chose the magnificent Sint-Janskerk in Mechelen, where during the concert you could not take your eyes off Rubens' magnificent Adoration of the Magi (which still attracts far too few tourists – incomprehensible!) and the rich, unique baroque woodcarving. The church has recently been restored but feels somewhat too museum-like. The music, however, brought the atmosphere of this church back to life – the church where I made my first solemn communion.
Conductor Johannes Moesus chose lesser-known works by (too) obscure composers from Haydn's time, which he placed alongside Mozart and Haydn. The concert opened with the symphony in F opus 24/3 by Carl Stamitz (1745-1801). You could call it a straightforward series work, simply beautifully pleasant and relaxing, but with a surprising third movement – an allegro assai – that makes you want to dance along. To be honest: the concerto in C for violin and orchestra (Murray C5) by Antonio Rosetti (1750-1792) is richer in every respect than the previous work. This carries genius within it. Rosetti is unfortunately performed far too rarely, and conductor Moesus has virtually made it his life's work to give Rosetti all the recognition he deserves. This concerto has considerable depth and offers music that should resonate in the selections and semifinals of, for example, a Queen Elisabeth Competition for violin. There is so much hidden in this music – musical treasures, lines, subtleties and also technical demands – the cadenzas can only be played by virtuosos – that you could select violinists based on it. Personally, I unfortunately did not feel sufficiently moved by the soloist Lena Neudauer, mother of three young children. She plays in the contemporary vision of several baroque specialists who also approach the Viennese classics. This vision is hard, fast, virtuosic, curt and yet lacks too much lyricism, song and soul. The audience was divided. Some will fully follow my view, others were enthusiastically delighted. Taste and all that…
After the intermission it was a pleasure to hear the 13-year-old Mozart's symphony in G, KV 74. A little work full of audacity and enthusiasm from what he experienced in Italy where he then stayed with his father. The real Mozart of not much later certainly already makes himself known in the third movement, the allegro, where the typical Mozart dual feelings already permeate the work. Joy and darkness at once. Hope and loss, fear and cheerfulness. All of that is even more present in the Rondo in C for violin and orchestra KV 373. A work where you might ask whether it should have remained just a rondo, since it more or less fades away without a real ending. Yet that laying down of everything is precisely the graceful aspect of this deeply felt Rondo. The soloist also left me here with an unfulfilled feeling. Her playing was fine and yet I missed something. The cherry on top seemed to be forgotten.
Full of life, the concert concluded with the symphony in E-flat, Hob. I:43 "Merkur" by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). Four movements of Haydn as he was. A pity we did not know the man personally, although? His music is so eloquent, just as his words make everything understandable: "Meine Sprache versteht man durch die ganze Welt".
The orchestra thanked the audience with an extra, the third movement from the symphony in D (Murray A1) by Rosetti. May I be so bold as to state that this was the richest work of the entire afternoon? Antonio Rosetti: look up his works!
Amazing Haydn was once again 'amazing' and concluded with a lovely reception, of a quality equal to the music. As it should be, this annual total project where no detail is overlooked will treat the audience next year to Beethoven, whose grandfather had roots in Mechelen…
- WHAT: Amazing Haydn 2019, final concert
- WHO: Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim conducted by Johannes Moesus, violin solo Lena Neudauer
- WHERE & WHEN: Sint-Janskerk, Mechelen, 27 October 2019
- PHOTOS: © Klassiek Centraal – LVM