Jan 8. London Theatre Concerts, Mosco Carner, John Hunt, Redvers Llewellyn

Another all-Mozart programme and a performance up to the high standard which these concerts have set. The early symphony in E flat (K.184) was so quickly over (it lasted only about 10 minutes) that one hardly had time to savour its quality – it was hardly more than an overture - but the slow movement seemed to be attractive & the whole work had more than a “museum” interest. It was interesting to see Redvers Llewellyn off the stage & he sang quite well, tho’ I think a Kipnis would have made more of the sombre aria “Mentre ti lascio, o cara” (K.513). The set of six German Dances (K.571) had numerous felicities and was pleasantly variegated in its use of its instrumental forces. The sixth was particularly attractive with the addition of the “Turkish music” of cymbals and tambourine. John Hunt again showed what an excellent Mozart player he is and the Piano Concerto in E flat (K.482) is becoming a fast favourite with me. Though it has not the grandeur of the D minor & the C minor the slow movement is pathetically lovely and the andantino section in the rondo. [sic] lifts it out of the range of the merely pleasant. The Linz Symphony (K.425) is also in no way negligible compared with the better known symphonies, and each of the four movements has some specially endearing quality – in the first movement what Eric Blom in the programme note calls the Handelian “Hallelujahs”, the tranquility of the slow movement, the dance like trio of the minuet & the swift wit & verve of the finale. The conductor was Mosco Carner, an Austrian (? Jew) aged about 35, who obviously has the music of Mozart in his blood & used a score only for the aria & the concerto[.]