Chatter to perform Mozart in Santa Fe
The Chatter String Trio is heading north to perform Mozart in Santa Fe’s historic San Miguel Chapel on Friday, May 12. Violinist David Felberg, cellist James Holland and violist Shanti Randall will play the composer’s Divertimento for String Trio, considered a jewel of classic chamber music repertoire.
Mozart’s only completed string trio, the Divertimento is a lighthearted, entertaining piece of music.
“Many critics say it’s (Mozart’s) finest piece of chamber music,” Felberg said. “It’s a little more like party music back in the day in Vienna.”
The title is a bit ironic, he added. “The piece is quite intricate and detailed. It’s not a piece of fluff. It’s got one of the most sublime slow movements he ever wrote. It’s a wonder.”
The musicians have programmed two contemporary works for the program’s second half.
The Brazilian-born Marcos Balter wrote “Vision Mantra” for the high-ceilinged acoustics of the Chicago Cultural Center. Balter was inspired by the mosaic patterns of the
building’s dome.
“The music is like mosaics with repeated patterns,” Felberg said.
Andrew Norman penned his string trio, the “Companion Guide to Rome,” during a year in the city. Its nine movements are portraits of the composer’s favorite churches. The piece was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize in composition.
The American classical magazine Musical America named Norman its composer of the year in 2016.
“It seemed like the perfect thing to put in (San Miguel),” Felberg said.
Heavily damaged during the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, San Miguel Chapel is known as the oldest church in the country. The present building dates to 1710.