Two arrangements for nonet frame two 20th century concerti in this adventurous program by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The program begins with Jean Françaix’s arrangement of Mozart’s evergreen Wind Quintet; Françaix adapted Mozart’s piano part for string quartet while maintaining the original wind scoring. The capstone of the program is Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, a musical illustration of the hijinks of the German folk legend in an arrangement by Australian composer Brett Dean. In between, the masterful harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, of whose last appearance at 92Y The New York Times wrote, “The ovation was intense and seemingly universal,” performs the folk tune-inflected harpsichord concerto of Manuel De Falla and the neoclassical concerto of Bohuslav Martinů.
Mozart, Wind Quintet in E-flat Major, K. 452 (arr. for nonet by Jean Françaix)
de Falla, Harpsichord Concerto in D Major
Martinů, Harpsichord Concerto, H. 246
Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28 (arr. for nonet by Brett Dean)