The Mozarteum Orchester and the English T-Rex

We just got back from the Mozarteum Orchester's concert, conducted by Englishman Ivor Bolton. The orchestra sounded incredible, and I really enjoyed the two Clementi symphonies they played. I especially liked Symphony no. 3, which quoted "God Save the Queen" extensively. There was also a fantastic soprano soloist and on one of her arias she was accompanied by a natural horn! Before this concert I had heard of natural horns but I didn't know they were still played. Natural horns have no valves, so any adjustment in pitch is done with the musician's embouchure. The horn player was amazing and his accuracy was phenomenal.

Horn player and soprano soloist

There was one part of this concert that I did not appreciate as much as the rest of the concerts we've seen on this trip: the conductor. I've heard various descriptions, but to me a lot of his conducting looked like an awkward T-Rex. He also made very strange expressions and looked at the crowd sometimes, which was a bit off-putting. I'm not sure how the Mozarteum Orchester managed to play so well together, because there's no way I would have been able to follow that conductor- he was all over the place. Anyway, the concert was overall enjoyable, and watching that conductor was an experience. Tomorrow we're off to Vienna!!!