YOUNGSTOWN All-Mozart opener to feature soloists

Two of Mozart's late works also will be performed.
By ROBERT ROLLIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ani and Ida Kavafian, soloists of the first rank, will be the featured artists for Saturday's gala opening night of the Youngstown Symphony's 77th season.
They will be the highlight of an all-Mozart program, performing the Sinfonia concertante for violin and viola in E flat major, K. 364.
Ani performed with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra as soloist on a Mozart violin concerto last season. She is known for her able premieres of new violin concertos and her astonishing additional skill as a pianist.
Ida is equally versatile on violin and viola. She was a founding member of the group Tashi, renowned for its performance of 20th-century music, and formerly served as violinist of the outstanding Beaux Arts Trio.
There is a marvelous old vinyl recording of another family duo performing the Sinfonia concertante -- that of David and Igor Oistrach (father and son) with the Moscow Philharmonic under Kyril Kondrashim.
Sensitivity, skill
With the added chemistry of Maestro Isaiah Jackson's sensitivity to Mozart, and the orchestra's skill, the Youngstown performance should not be missed.
During the 1996 season, Jackson particularly distinguished himself in a performance of Mozart's Twentieth Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466, with Mischa Dichter as soloist. This first-rate concert was recently broadcast on WYSU-FM.
The Sinfonia concertante had a sad genesis.
In the fall of 1777, Mozart embarked on a fateful trip to Paris, passing through Mannheim, where he met his future wife, Constanza, and heard the Mannheim orchestra, considered the first modern orchestra and noted for its experiments in wider dynamic ranges.
Continuing on to Paris, Mozart encountered two soul-wrenching experiences: the death of his mother and the lukewarm receptions from audiences that idolized him as a child prodigy 15 years earlier.
Finally returning to Salzburg, Mozart sublimated his grief and passion in the marvelous Sinfonia concertante, whose sparkling first movement has a wonderful surprise entrance of the soloists and beautiful melodic arabesques as the two instruments weave in and out of one another's registers.
The soulful slow movement in C minor enunciates beautiful solo lines in a stunning, yet unpretentious arioso. The final & eacute; is short, brilliant and dancelike, closing this masterpiece with positive force.
What to expect
The balance of the Gala Opening Concert includes two great late works: the 40th Symphony in G MInor, arguably Mozart's most passionate work in the medium, and the exuberant-yet-intense Magic Flute Overture, written barely a month before his death.
Two other interesting local events follow quickly after the Mozart program. The first, a fully staged performance of Puccini's "La Boheme" by the Western Opera Theater, the touring company of the San Francisco Opera, at 8 p.m. Oct. 28, should be excellent if their two recent visits are any indication.
The second will be An Evening with Jose Feliciano, the first pops series concert, at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening, Nov 2. Feliciano, stellar Latin artist of Puerto Rican extraction, was born blind and is self-taught on guitar and voice. He has had 45 platinum and gold records, and is among the finest living rock and jazz artists.