Mozart wrote his first symphony in London when he was eight years old. You’re hearing a recording by the Prague Chamber Orchestra. This weekend, the Sacramento Philharmonic will play the piece under assistant conductor Ming Luke, who finds that Mozart is almost everywhere this year, the 250th anniversary of his birth.
“There was this critic who remarked…”
Saturday will be Ming Luke’s chance to shine. Music director Michael Morgan is out of town, so Luke will conduct the entire concert, the first time that he’s done so with the Philharmonic. And all of the music is by you know who. The other figure to watch for on Saturday is soprano Aimee Puentes, who, as it turns out, has local roots.
“I was born in Carmichael…”
Puentes later joined the San Francisco Opera Chorus, before embarking on a solo career. I caught up with her recently at Sacramento High School. There, she delighted a teenage audience by recruiting a somewhat shy student named Montrell to play a silent role as her character’s love interest in an aria from Don Giovanni, hence the laughter.
(music)
Puentes likes to share her enthusiasm for Mozart with student audiences. I asked her what words she’d used to describe the music.
“Demanding. . . . agility.”
Jeff Hudson, KXJZ News.
(music, out)