The CPO brings the classics to the great outdoors
With a breathtakingly beautiful setting over 5000 classical music enthusiasts equestrian choreography and 65 inspired musicians performing some of the most gorgeous music ever written it’s no surprise Mozart on the Mountain is the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s signature event. This year’s concert will take place Sunday August 26 at the Rafter Six Ranch Resort. CPO music director Roberto Minczuk will conduct the orchestra and welcome special guests the Strathcona Mounted Troop. Michael Hope who has played bassoon with the orchestra for 25 years says he always looks forward to launching the CPO season with this event. “What excites me about Mozart on the Mountain is that of course we always play Mozart” he explains. “The best part about playing his music outdoors is the connection his music has to nature. I’ve always thought that music is part of and a creation of nature. Mozart is the prime example being an incredible genius as a composer in an elite class of his own. How could he not be something that was divinely created? In that way I think his creations are products of nature. When you have that in mind and you see the beautiful surroundings of the Rocky Mountains and the Kananaskis River with the fresh air that you can only get in this part of the world — what a rush!” Three masterworks by Mozart will be performed in the great outdoors. The exhilarating overture from the Marriage of Figaro will kick off the concert followed by the stormy first movement of Symphony No. 25 well known as the score for the opening sequence of the film Amadeus. The centrepiece of the program will be the “Adagio” and “Allegro” movements of the Clarinet Concerto. Longtime CPO first clarinet Steve Amsel described by Hope as “one of the great stars of our orchestra” will be the soloist. The Adagio is another piece with a connection to the cinema; it figured prominently in Out of Africa which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1985. Hope says it is “one of the most sublime pieces that Mozart ever wrote. It’s one of those pieces that transports you to a world where there are no clocks no watches and no deadlines just puts you in a bit of a trance.” After the intermission the trance will be broken by the portentous opening theme of Beethoven’s First Symphony followed by a bugle call welcoming the Strathcona Mounted Troop. Performing in 1920s-style uniforms the group continues a tradition that stretches back over 100 years. They will perform a musical ride and tent pegging ceremony to the accompaniment of pieces such as the William Tell Overture by Rossini (including the famous Lone Ranger theme). Although this equestrian-and-orchestral collaboration will be extraordinary it is not unprecedented according to Hope. “A few years ago we (the CPO) started playing down at the Stampede for the heavy horse pull and we noticed how those beautiful horses would respond to the music we were playing” he says. “Music being part of nature the animals respond to rhythms and melodies. It’s really neat that we’re going to have this procession of horses dancing and marching in time in full regalia to great march favourites like the Radetzky March (by Johann Strauss).” This year the CPO’s music director will conduct Mozart on the Mountain for the first time. As Hope says “Maestro Roberto Minczuk made it clear after he was appointed that he really wants to get to know our community and share our music with as many people as he can. What better way for him to do that than to showcase himself at our signature event which draws our largest audience of the season? That in itself is going to bring a level of excitement to this year’s event that we haven’t seen before.”
