Sarah Willis (horn), Jonathan Kelly (oboe), Wenzel Fuchs (clarinet), Stefan Schweigert (bassoon), Harold Madrigal Frías (soloist)
Havana Lyceum Orchestra, The Sarahbanda, José Antonio Méndez Padrón
Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 4 in E flat major, K495
Olivero, E: Rondo alla Rumba
Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K. 297b
Lafitte: La Bella Cubana
Fernández, J: Guantanamera
My dream of recording all four of the Mozart horn concertos has been fulfilled at last. Little did I know that this long-held dream would come true in Cuba of all places and with a Cuban orchestra! I have learned so much about Cuban music and how to dance Mozart along the way and, as a result, feel changed as a person and as a musician", says Sarah Willis.
With this album - subtitled La Bella Cubana - the Mozart y Mambo trilogy is complete. After two critically acclaimed albums, three documentary films, two international tours and fundraising to help support classical musicians in Cuba, Sarah concludes this adventure of a lifetime with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and their conductor, Jose Antonio Mendez Padron by recording Mozart's Concerto No. 4 with its famous final Rondo. Also on the album, three of her colleagues from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Kelly, Wenzel Fuchs and Stefan Schweigert, join her for more Mozart, performing the Sinfonia Concertante for four solo wind instruments and orchestra. Of course, no Mozart y Mambo album would be complete without the Sarahbanda ensemble, who once again fuse Mozart with Cuban dance rhythms in Rondo alla Rumba. And what better way to say goodbye than with the most famous Cuban song of all time, Guantanamera!
Let the magic of Mozart y Mambo - this music, these musicians, their interpretation, their love for the project and for each other - get you up and dancing one more time!