2012: W.A.Mozart e il Corno di Bassetto at Palazzo dei Capitani, Malcesine, Italy

W.A.Mozart e il Corno di Bassetto.  Delta Wind Consort at Palazzo dei Capitani, Malcesine, Italy, Tuesday 19 giugno 2012 – ore 21:00

Reviewed by Frank McKone

Though I am not a technical expert in acoustics, nor qualified to properly analyse the Delta Wind Consort’s interpretation of Mozart’s music, I felt I could not pass up the opportunity to say that I have surely found a solution to the Fitters’ Workshop dilemma.  Import, holus bolus, the 17th Century Palazzo dei Capitani from Malcesine.

At ground level is a great hall which opens onto a neat French style garden with steps providing access to boarding boats, admittedly on a 350 metre deep glacial Lake Garda, rather than a rather less impressive Kingston Foreshore – but you can’t have everything.

Upstairs, with floor to ceiling windows looking out across the lake to the high mountains just a bit bigger than Monte Ainslie, the concert hall has huge timbers breaking up the ceiling to create what seemed to me to be just the right acoustic for the wide register of sound generated by the three corni di bassetto led by Ferrante Casellato, with Raffaele Magosso and Antonio Pozzato.

It was a delight to hear these instruments of the clarinet family work so well together in selected pieces, mainly arias, from Le nozze di Figaro KV 492, Il Flauto magico KV 620, Così fan tutte KV 588 and Don Giovanni KV527.  Of course, the encore just had to be a whimsical Pa pa pa from the Magic Flute, but the piece I felt brought out the sense of musical history was the complete Divertimento in Fa magg. KV 229.

It was here that the description of the Delta Wind Consort as un gruppo cameristico came to the fore.  The light surface of the divertimento was underlaid by touches of dark colouring, and it was easy to imagine Wolfgang and Constanza testing out the music ready to perform in places like this small palazzo in Malcesine.

Behind the presentation by the Delta Wind Consort was the Benacus Chamber Orchestra Association, formed in 2009 to provide opportunities for young professional players to perform in venues around northern Italy, working in cooperation with the local organisations, in this case the Commune di Malcesine Assessorato all cultura, and under the patronage of the Provincia di Verona. The link is www.benacuschamberorchestra.com/ .

And the Palazzo, at least in its current manifestation in Malcesine, even has a built-in English pub and café, run by a north country English couple who provide huge pots of Tetley tea – something wonderful indeed in 30 degree summer temperatures.  Perhaps we should import the lot as a going concern.

© Frank McKone, Canberra