Mozart and more -- with La Cafamore
By Contributor
Rossland-based chamber music ensemble La Cafamore returns to the string trio format to present Mozart's Divertimento in E flat major, Jean Françaix’s Trio à Cordes and Richard Strauss’ Variations on a Bavarian Theme, at the Trail United Church .
Violist Jeffrey Chow (pictured below) joins violinist Carolyn Cameron and cellist Maria Wang for this delightful evening of string trio performances.
La Cafamoreis a Rossland-based group which tours the Kootenays twice yearly.
Violinist and group manager Carolyn Cameron is responsible for publicity and picking out the theme of each concert. “Of all the composers in the classical music repertoire, Mozart is the one who has been the most requested when we tour. People do ask why we don’t play more Mozart. This is why, when we do actually put Mozart on the program, we like to shout it out.”
The piece in question for this set of concerts is Mozart’s iconic string Divertimento in E flat major.
“This wonderful work was written towards the end of Mozart’s short life and as such is a showcase of his abilities as a composer,” says Cameron.
It is interesting to note that Beethoven seemed to use the string trio format early in his career and then abandoned the format for the string quartet. In Mozart’s case, it was the reverse, the result being that the parts of viola and cello are much more developed than in many of his string quartets.
This is only the third major Mozart chamber work that the group has performed in their decade-plus of performing.
“We have a pool of five musicians to call on and what we perform is firstly determined by who is available for each concert”, says Cameron. “and secondly, we try to accommodate the tastes of each player. Mozart can be a hard sell because his music is deceptively difficult to play. I think our violist Alexis More summed it up best when she stated that when you play Mozart, it’s as if he makes it hard to play, but he’s laughing at you the whole time because it has to sound as if it’s easy to play.”
Of all the group members, More has been the most reluctant to play Mozart, “which makes it truly ironic that the concerts are called ‘Mozart and More’ as Alexis will not be with us. Alexis More is on leave from the group as she will be giving birth right around the time of the first concerts,” Cameron notes.
The group welcomes newcomer violist Jeffrey Chow to fill the void. “Jeffrey comes highly recommended by our cellist, Maria Wang and we are super excited that he will be playing with the group,” says Cameron.
Jean Françaix’s Trio à Cordes and Richard Strauss’ Variations on a Hungarian Theme round off the program which will be played in the communities of Trail, Kaslo, Invermere, Fernie and Kimberley.
Cameron has a particular soft spot for the Trail concerts, having lived just up the road for over twenty years. “I can’t say enough about the Trail United Church. It is a beautiful venue to look at and acoustically, unsurpassed. The church has been extremely generous with their space, allowing us to rehearse there too”. The Trail Society for Performing Arts, CKCA and Columbia Basin Trust have contributed to sponsor this concert for which the group is extremely grateful. Cameron also looks forward to an audience full of familiar faces. “When you know that you are supported by an audience, it makes performing much less nerve-wracking. I can’t emphasize enough how important audiences are to performers.”
When: Sunday August 25, 2019, 7:30 p.m..
Where: Trail United Church
Admission: $20, Under 12- free
Tickets available at thebailey.ca and at the door.
