by Paul J. Pelkonen
On Thursday, August 12, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra made its Mostly Mozart debut, with a concert highlighting the genius of Mozart and the remarkable talents of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff.
This German singer has made waves in the past with appearances at Tanglewood and with the New York Philharmonic. He is gifted with a deep, dark, round voice, an enormous instruemnt which can skip blithely through Mozart's difficult coloratura passages and descend nimbly to wrap around the low notes with a sound like black velvet. And all this is more amazing because Mr. Quasthoff suffers from a congenital defect, a result of his mother taking the drug thalidomide (aka Contergan) during her pregnancy. He is about four feet tall. His arms are small, and vestigial. Yet he possesses an enormous vocal talent, and an intelligence in intepretation which perfectly complements his remarkable instrument.
He opened his portion of the concert with "Madamina...il catologo questo," the famous "Catalogue Song" from "Don Giovanni," in which the servant Leporello shows an astonished Donna Elvira the list of the Don's 1,003 conquests. Quasthoff struck the right notes of astonishment, sarcasm, and envy as he ticked off the women who've been in the Don's arms. The closing slow section mixed passionate longing with green-eyed resentment, capturing the blend of high tragedy and low comedy that makes "Don Giovanni" motor.
Quasthoff then followed with a rare baritone transcription of "Cosi dunque tradisci...Aspri rimorsi atroci" from the opera seria "Idomeneo." Originally written for a dramatic tenor, this bitter aria of terror and betrayal acquired great dramatic force in Quasthoff's performance. Two concert arias (works written for the voice but not for the stage--an 18th century predecessor of the Romantic "art song" or lied—followed. "Mentre ti lascio," a heart-shattering eruption of angst, was sung with power and feeling, the lament of a father for his daughter. "Per questa bella mano," (which features a prominent part for double-bass along with the orchestra) expresses love, warmth and passion as its tempo accelerates.
In addition to showcasing the vocal talents of Mr. Quasthoff, the concert was also an opporunity for New Yorkers to hear the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, a fine period-performance ensemble which, like Frans Brueggen's Orchestra of the 18th Century, (which shares some of its members) couches the music of Mozart in a refreshing, eccentricity-free language.
The Freiburgers opened with the overture to "Mitridate," a mini-symphony from the opera which Mozart composed at the age of 14. This was followed by the Sinfonia Concertante, which demonstrated the considerable talents of the Orchestra's principal oboe, horn, clarinet, and bassoon. Horn soloist Teunis van der Zwart played his "natural horn" (which replaces modern valves with old-fashioned crooks) with great eloquence and beauty of tone. Bassoonist Donna Agrell coped ably with Mozart's nimble part for her instrument, and clarinettist Lorenzo Coppola gave a performance which showed Mozart's love for the instrument.
The program concluded with a thoroughly wonderful performance of the much-loved Symphony No. 40 in g minor. While the Freiburgers, following the bow of principal violinist Gottfried von der Goltz instead of the usual conductor, converyed some of the angst and agony of this legendary work, this was a refreshing, well-considered performance, and a treat for the ears.
Happily, this was not the end of the evening. As the audience applauded, picked up their programs and started streaming for the exits, Mr. Quasthoff reappeared. Laughing, he told the audience "You can go home in 10 minutes" and proceeded to sing "In diesen heil'gen Hallen," Sarastro's second aria from "Die Zauberfloete." This was the finest part of the evening, as this astounding singer sang this great, wise, humanist aria, ending the concert on a sonorous, resonant low note.