NOVA opener an all-Mozart gig

For NOVA Chamber Music Series artistic director Corbin Johnston, deciding what to present for the season's opening concert was easy.

"It's four of my finest colleagues from the Utah Symphony and four of the most wonderful pieces in the chamber music literature," he said. "People are often asking me how you choose what programs to do. This was a real no-brainer." The all-Mozart program, which will feature Mozart's Flute Quartet in A, K. 298, Horn Quintet in E flat, K. 407, Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370, and Clarinet Quintet in A, K. 581, was chosen, he said, because it's still the Mozart anniversary year, which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth.

The flute quartet, said Johnston, was the last of Mozart's four quartets for flute and strings. In this particular piece, Mozart's cheerfulness is present as he parodies popular contemporary tunes in each of the four movements.

The good humor is continued in the horn quintet, which was written for a good friend of Mozart's. In this piece, Mozart uses the unusual combination of two violas, a violin and cello, instead of the customary two violins and one viola — possibly, according to some, to balance the darker sound of the horn. The Oboe Quartet also reflects Mozart's cheerful side.

"The last piece, the clarinet quartet, is one of the greatest pieces of chamber music ever composed. It's a master stroke from its first note to the last. It's really just as great as classical music gets."

The featured musicians, Johnston said, are the four principal woodwind players of the Utah Symphony: flutist Erich Graf, oboist Robert Stephenson, clarinetist Tad Calcara and horn player Bruce Gifford.

"Each year, NOVA tries to spotlight members and sections of the Utah Symphony," he said. "For instance, last year, we had a concert that featured the trombone section of the Utah Symphony. And in the past, they've done concerts with the four concert masters and the horn section. So this is also a continuation of the idea of featuring sections of the Utah Symphony in a much more intimate setting."

The program will also include Dara Morales (violin), Yuki MacQueen (violin), Lynn Rilling (viola), John Englund (viola) and Jesus Morales (cello).

"What NOVA is supposed to be is the best local professional resident musicians performing great music," said Johnston. "That's what we try to do. And I think that the people who come to our concerts end up coming back for years and years and years.

"It's a very loyal and growing audience."

If you go ...

What: NOVA Concert

Where: Utah Museum of Fine Arts, U.

When: Today, 3 p.m.

How much: $12-$15

Phone: 463-5223

Web: www.novachambermusicseries.org

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E-mail: rcline@desnews.com