The music of Mozart runs at the core of the Northern Sinfonia’s repertoire. So an all-Mozart programme under the baton of leading Classical exponent Bernard Labadie was guaranteed to make for a stimulating evening. A cross section of the composer’s prodigious output was introduced by the Overture to La Clemenza di Tito. Its magestic phrases and spirited tunes provided an ideal limbering up for the sinfonia. Italian virtuoso Benedetto Lupo then stepped up to the plate for an impeccable reading of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 27. The symbiosis between soloist and orchestra was complete; neither threatening to overwhelm the other. The Larghetto, or slow movement, features one of the most graceful tunes to come from Mozart’s quill. Lupo’s pacing was exquisite and he invested every note with feeling, without falling into the trap of sentimentality. Time itself seemed to pause. The jaunty Allegro saw some razor-sharp exchanges between Lupo and the woodwinds. Mozart’s last piano concerto was followed by an expressive reading from his first opera seria Idomeneo, including the Marcia and Chaconne. The evening was rounded off with a lean account of Mozart’s Symphony No 33. The rendition radiated a sense of enjoyment, with Labadie extracting an added zing from the glistening strings in the finale. Not wanting the audience to feel cheated, which they certainly were not, Labadie’s encore was a boisterous Oveture from the Marriage of Figaro.

Gavin Engelbrecht