Blow out the candles
Seriously, Mr. and Mrs. Lalo planned it this way. Y’see, in late April 1823, knowing they wanted to be the parents of a composer, Mr. and Mrs. L set out trying to conceive with the goal of having a baby who would be born precisely on January 27 — which is, of course, the birthday of Mozart.
Damned if they didn’t pull it off!
Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo was indeed born on January 27, only 67 years after Mozart, and he became a significant figure in classical music.
Such things do not escape the sharp, kestrel’s eye of Toshiyuki Shimada, the conductor/music director of New London’s Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. On Saturday, then, the ECSO presents “Mozart & Lalo Birthday Bash.”
The program includes Lalo’s Overture to Le roi d’Ys; Mozart’s Ruhe sanft (Zaïde) (with guest soprano Sarah Yanovitch); “Mozart & Lalo Birthday Bash,” Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra 8 p.m. Saturday, Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London; pre-show chat at 7 p.m.; $12-$62; (860) 443-2876, ectsymphony.com.
Mozart’s Sinfonia concertantae for Winds in E flat major, K 297b (K Anh 9) featuring the ECSO Principal Winds; Lalo’s Norwegian Rhapsody for Orchestra; Mozart’s L’amerò sarò constant from Il Re Pastore, K. 208 (with Yanovitch); and Mozzarts
Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola (with guests the Miller-Porfiris Do).
A pre-concert chat takes place at 7 p.m. and, yes, following the performance, birthday cake will be served.