John Adams
The Chairman Dances
Mozart
Violin Concerto in G, K216
Beethoven
Symphony No.1 in C, Op.21
Daniel Lozakovich (violin)
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
Louis Langrée
Reviewed by: Susan Stempleski
Reviewed: 7 August, 2018
Venue: David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City
The joyfully syncopated The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra), John Adams’s 1985 elaboration of material from Nixon in China, was the invigorating opener of this Mostly Mozart program. Adams’s technique of repeated, gradually accelerating patterns in cellos and basses produces a vibrant, adrenaline-pumping effect as other instruments are layered on, Louis Langrée effectively changing the mood as the music moves into a more swooning, sentimental vein.
Next, seventeen-year-old Daniel Lozakovich playing Mozart. His interpretation was very touching, the outer movements remarkably nimble and fresh, and the Adagio memorably expressive. He was exceptionally well-supported by Langrée, who scaled down the accompaniment to provide the perfect setting for the enormously gifted Lozakovich. As an encore, Lozakovich offered a heartfelt account of the sorrowful ‘Allemande’ from J. S. Bach’s D-minor Partita, BWV1004.
The evening ended with a crisp and sprightly account of Beethoven’s First Symphony. Langrée was consistently alert and intense, and the playing was bright, vigorous and thrilling.