Mozart Orchestra Puts Emphasis on Youth

When Lucinda Carver leads her Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, as she did Saturday at the Wilshire-Ebell Theatre, you can count on some thought having gone into the musical menu. Most likely you will hear an unfamiliar work from the Classical period, a concerto that also isn’t a usual suspect, and a 20th century piece for strings (often British) worthy of revival and comfortable in 18th century surroundings. A veteran listener almost always will find diversion.

Carver’s latest program was no exception, framing Vivaldi concertos for lute and mandolin (played by William Kanengiser on guitar) and composer-in-residence Maria Newman’s Concerto Grosso for Strings with work by two teenage composers: the 16-year-old Mozart and the 19-year-old Schubert.

Mozart’s Symphony No. 16 is no token obscurity but a delightfully inventive and ebullient piece that would merit hearing even if its composer hadn’t gone on to greater things. It shows the composer as fledgling wit, skillful contrapuntist and natural melodist. Carver headed a graceful, bubbling performance from the harpsichord.

Newman’s Concerto Grosso from 1996 easily could have been penned by Gustav Holst or a young Benjamin Britten, so familiar, English-tinged and assured are its outlines. But though it is retro, it is quality retro. The 15-minute work pleases with its rich tonalities and sonorities, its lively Renaissance rhythms, and its spacious and spicy fugal subject.

Kanengiser, smartly, used discreet amplification. His legato technique and subtly gradated nuances were heard easily. In the slow movements, his phrases flowed unpretentiously and the ensemble supported with pillowy softness. In Schubert’s Symphony No. 5, Carver made her points without forcing them--tempos swift but not driven, accents pointed not heavy, melodies elegantly lyrical. It was a perfect match of genial music with genial music-making.