‘Mostly Mozart’ Program Playing At Duncan Gardens, Mukogawa

Connoisseur Concerts has expanded its Mostly Mozart On a Summer’s Eve program this year to include two performances in Duncan Gardens and a children’s program at the Mukogawa-Fort Wright Institute.

The success of the past years is not hard to fathom. In the sunken, seemingly isolated, grandeur of the formal Duncan Gardens in Manito Park, one (or several) can sit at a table with linen and ingest desserts which ought to require a note from your doctor. Then singers and a small wind band of musicians perform from the fountain. It is like recreating the heyday of Versailles here in Spokane.

The expansion to two evenings is a result of past success with the garden format and a desire to retain the acoustic intimacy of the performance. Musical director Verne Windham says, “The quality of listening increases with acoustic music; it requires folks to actively use their ears. Amplification would be inappropriate to this music and would break down the bonds between the performers and the audience.”

The music for the evening is “mostly Mozart,” with offerings by some other fellows from Vienna. Windham’s winds will open with Haydn’s Divertimento in B-flat, followed by the Variations on “Ah, Vous Dirai-Je, Mamam” by Mozart.

The instrumental ensemble consists of the standard woodwind octet - two each of oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons - with the occasional addition of the flute for all of the color it can provide.

The band will then be joined by sopranos Tamara Schupman and Susan Windham, as well as The Ensemble, a select group from the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus, for a handful of selections from Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro.”

The Ensemble will be featured in Mozart’s “A-B-C Song” and Franz Schubert’s lovely ‘An Die Musik.”

Hornist Roger Logan has been commissioned by Dr. Jonathan Holloway to arrange Johannes Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme by Haydn” specifically for this woodwind nonet and this event. This enduring favorite has long been the quintessential hallmark of the variations form for the orchestra, and it will be fascinating to hear its metamorphosis to the colors of the woodwind ensemble.

The program for the Family Mozart Concert at Mukogawa will be selected from the Duncan Gardens program, without the inclusion of the singers. Windham will provide an informal introduction to the instruments and the works geared toward the education of younger listeners.

“Mostly Mozart On a Summer’s Eve” performances will be on Tuesday and Wednesday in Duncan Gardens at Manito Park at 7 p.m. Reserved tables will be set up by 5:30 for preceding picnics. Tickets are $17.50 per person for reserved seating at tables including dessert and coffee, or $5 for seating on the lawn (bring your own blanket or folding chair). Children 12 and under are admitted free.

The Family Mozart Concert on the grounds of Mukogawa-Fort Wright Institute will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Admission is free. In case of rain, the children’s concert will be held in the Holy Names Music Center, and a large tent will be provided for the Duncan Gardens performance. Tickets are available through G&B Select-a-Seat. For more information, call Connoisseur Concerts at 326-4942.