Cape Symphony audiences are in for a uniquely beautiful, authentic and compelling musical experience as the Orchestra will be joined by renowned fortepianist and classical music scholar Sylvia Berry for “The Magic of Mozart” on November 11 and 12.
Ms. Berry’s Viennese fortepiano is a precise reproduction of one built in 1795. “This is Mozart’s touring piano,” she said. “You’ll hear the music as Mozart heard it, as he played it. It will be a sound people are not used to… they may have to adjust their ears a little!”
Talking about the effort of transporting the instrument, Sylvia laughs. “I’m part of this funny 18th century tradition of hauling around a fortepiano. Fortunately, it straps to a dolly and fits in a minivan!” Mozart, of course, toured without such convenience, and kept a very intense schedule. “It is impossible to describe the hustle and bustle,” lamented his father in a letter to Mozart’s sister about one such trip, in a tone even modern parents may find relatable. “Where can I escape? Every day there are concerts, more and more students, music, and copying… Your brother’s fortepiano has been moved at least twelve times from his house to the theater or to someone else’s house.“
Ms. Berry puts all this activity in fascinating context. “A lot of music that has come down to us from major classical composers was written for women to play. That’s not especially well known,” she says. Learning music was a required part of women’s conscripted lives, as they were expected to entertain guests and show off to suitors. While some instruments were deemed “unfeminine” – women simply did not play wind or string instruments, for example – they did play harpsichord and piano, and they needed suitable music and eminently qualified teachers, Mozart among them. This, Ms. Berry explains, is where a lot of now-famous piano concertos come from. “We wouldn’t have this music if not for those women.”
“The Magic of Mozart” features Piano Concerto No. 13, which Ms. Berry has played many times with smaller ensembles. “I’m really excited to play it with a full orchestra for the first time!” she says. The fortepiano, while more quiet than a modern piano, is also very percussive and “brings out the conversational character of the music. The shorter sounds really sound like people talking – and they’re meant to! Concerto 13 is like an opera, or a conversation, alternating jocularity with sadness. It’s like a party going on, then someone stumbles in feeling sad and bringing the room down, and then that person is made to feel better.”
“It’s more than just beautiful music. Imagine characters behind it... there is conversation and drama there.”
We can’t wait to hear it.
“The Magic of Mozart” will be performed on Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, November 12 at 3:00 PM. Concert tickets are available on our website. You may also email
