Made it Through the Mozart

On Sunday the 18th, our quartet, with Carolyn Anderson on flute, performed the outer two movements of the Mozart Flute Quartet K. 285 in D Major. The APO Chamber Music Concert was quite long (some groups did not adhere to the max time of 10 minutes...) and we were last on the program. The first movement went very well - great tempo, and I think we had some nice musical moments in there. We stuck well together despite not getting a chance to rehearse in the church - and the acoustics there are very wet. The last movement started out great, but rapidly sped up to a tempo that was barely manageable. For my part, I did try to pull the tempo back down a tad when I had 8th notes... but to no avail. My 16th passages were very tough at that tempo and I was not quite on top of it as I would have liked to be. Nevertheless, it was an exciting performance and I think the audience appreciated us, and the other groups as well.

Concerts tomorrow and Sunday

The last concert series of the APO season is upon us! We had our final dress rehearsal last night, and I must say, there is some good music happening here. The guitar soloist sounds fantastic, and the 2nd movement of the Rodrigo is just gorgeous. Bolero now has a very nice, slow ramp up to the climax along with a super-steady temp. And the Beethoven. What can I say about such a great piece of music? I did not know it very well before we started rehearsing it, and I had never played it before. Now, only the 9th remains as the sole Beethoven Symphony that I have not played. The 3rd is a monumental work and will test everyone's ability to concentrate for 45 minutes! It is a symphonic tour de force, and will challenge the listeners.

Concert #1 - Friday, May 9th at the First United Methodist Church, downtown Albuquerque, at 7:30 PM. This is a great location for a concert, with wonderful acoustics and an excellent visual setting.

Concert #2 - Sunday, May 11th at the Kimo Theater, downtown Albuquerque, at 7:30 PM. Need I say more about the Kimo? It's one of Albuquerque's treasures.

I hope to see you there.