Mozart y Mambo: La Bella Cubana

by Sarah Willis, Jose Antonio Mendez Padron, Havana Lyceum Orchestra

Overview

This is the third and final release in a series of recordings made by Berlin Philharmonic hornist Sarah Willis in Havana, Cuba, mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic. All the albums have, as the title suggests, fused Mozart with Cuban music, and the graphics are festooned with images of Willis riding in some of the classic 1950s American cars that have been preserved in Havana's rust-free environment (here, a 1955 Buick Roadmaster, perhaps). As before, Willis is backed by the Havana Lyceum Orchestra under conductor Jose Antonio Mendez Padron, a youthful group with contagious enthusiasm, and in the Cuban jazz pieces by her own Sarahbanda. All the albums are worthwhile, but this one may be the choice for those wanting to acquire one; the Mozartian and Cuban elements are the most effectively fused here. The three Mozart horn concertos are distributed across the three albums, and here, the finale is matched inventively to a jazz treatment of the same material in Rondo alla Rumba, with the repeated notes of the concerto's solo part forming the basis for the improvisation. Willis is an adept jazz player, and one senses that the project brought out her talents in this area. She is joined on the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major, K. 297b (a disputed work but probably authentic to some degree), by three of her Berlin Philharmonic colleagues. A rousing treatment of the old song Guantanamera ends the trilogy in a rousing mood of celebration. The other releases in the series have sold well, and there is no reason to think that this one will not. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	09/08/2023
Label:	Alpha
UPC:	3760014199370
Rank:	39189

Tracks

1. Horn Concerto in E flat major, K.495~I. Allegro maestoso
2. Horn Concerto in E flat major, K.495~II. Romance. Andante cantabile
3. Horn Concerto in E flat major, K.495~III. Rondo. Allegro vivace
4. Rondo alla Rumba
5. Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E flat major, K.297b~I. Allegro
6. Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E flat major, K.297b~II. Adagio
7. Sinfonia Concertante for Four Winds in E flat major, K.297b~III. Andante con variazioni
8. Bella Cubana
9. Guantanamera

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sarah Willis   Primary Artist,French Horn
Jose Antonio Mendez Padron   Primary Artist,Conductor
Havana Lyceum Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Adel Gonzalez   Percussion
Wenzel Fuchs   Clarinet
Jonathan Kelly   Oboe
Stefan Schweigert   Bassoon
Harold Madrigal Frias   Trumpet
Sarahbanda   Ensemble

Technical Credits

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   Composer
Joseito Fernandez   Composer
Juan Arturo Brennan   Liner Note Translation
Joseph Lafitte   Composer
Andreas Wolf   Engineer
Monika Rittershaus   Cover Photo,Photography
Jorge Aragon   Arranger
Christoph Franke   Editing,Mastering,Recording Producer
Sarah Willis   Liner Notes
Joachim Steinheuer   Liner Note Translation
Sebastian Hanel   Photo Production
Julian Schwenkner   Engineer
Jose Antonio Mendez Padron   Liner Notes
Edgar Olivero   Composer
Ilena Pena Fernandez   Assistant Engineer
Nicolas Dumoulin   Photography