Jonathan Ofir conducted and allowed, as always, his musicians to listen to each other

Musikkonservatoriets Koncertsal, Copenhagen 18. September

By Steen Frederiksen (CUSTOS 1. December 2021)

Not even Mozarts best music could counter the effects of the long Covid music-deprivation. A big public, nonetheless all too few, attended an afternoon concert with Copenhagen Soloists and Mozart’s violin concerto No. 3, piano concerto No. 20 in D-minor and symphony No. 38 (Prague). A too-small public is a trend I have witnessed several times. Hopefully, time will heal those wounds.

Concerto Copenhagen’s Swedish concertmaster Fredrik From was soloist in the wonderful 3rd violin concerto of Mozart, and as concertmaster in the Prague-symphony he functioned optimally and carried a big significance for the orchetra’s precision and collective expression. The symphony was the concert’s best experience, yet it was also an exciting excursion to the 1700-hundreds to hear English-American Maggie Cole play Mozart’s piano concerto in D-minor on the fortepiano. The instrument sounded fragile and with a clear inheritance from the harpsichord’s distinct sound. Immense precision was conveyed by Maggie Cole, without the emotions that one has since been able to channel with a Steinway. On the other hand it was interesting, how the few strings and the low-volume solo instrument allowed us listeners to hear just how much happens in Mozart’s winds. This is something that is otherwise not experienced – the winds’ well-formed additions and melodies, which one often misses.

Jonathan Ofir conducted and allowed, as always, his musicians to listen to each other, rather than conducting them to pieces. But after the break, in the Prague-symphony, he conducted with a temperament so thrilling and wild that naturally planted itself in the orchestra, which was as enthusiastic as the public.