Mozart in Cuba? Why not?! »To anyone who asks me why I chose to record Mozart on Cuba of all places I can only say: Listen yourself, then you'll understand why!«, Sarah Willis exclaims – and she knows she's not making a promise she can't keep. The dance-like lightness of Mozart's music, its bubbly high spirits and joie de vivre can easily be translated into the Cuban way of life. The charismatic Berlin Philharmonic horn player and the Havana Lyceum Orchestra show how Mozart could sound in the Caribbean with their hit project »Mozart y Mambo«, which combines the Austrian composer's works with traditional Cuban music.
- Elbphilharmonie Großer Saal
Elbphilharmonie Summer
Past Concert
Mozart dances mambo :The story behind Sarah Willis' project with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra
»The Cubans believe that Mozart would have made a good Cuban«, Sarah Willis says, and smiles in agreement. The Berlin Philharmonic 's acclaimed horn player has set herself the goal of introducing the fascinating music of Cuba to the world at large. Hot dance movements like the bolero and the mambo – Willis, herself a keen salsa dancer, calls the music of the Caribbean island »her musical idea of paradise«.
It's only a couple of years since she first visited Cuba to give a master course in Havanna. Her initial reservations about how many horn players Cuba could possibly muster were soon dispelled: »I was deeply impressed by how many people attended my course, how well they played and how full of music they were. They prompted me to start discovering Cuban music for myself,« the soloist recalls.
And what does that have to do with Mozart? Plenty, as a matter of fact. Not only does Havanna boast a big marble monument honouring the Salzburg master. Mozart can be heard in the streets of the Cuban capital as well as the Beatles, and there's often someone whistling along to the tune. No wonder, thus Sarah Willis, who likewise believes the classical composer would have made a good Cuban: »There is so much rhythm in his music, so much energy – you really have to dance to it!«
No sooner said than done! Sarah Willis joined forces with the members of the Havana Lyceum Orchestra amd their conductor José Antonio Méndez Padrón to create the project »Mozart y Mambo«. And she scored a direct hit: the individual idea and its implementation elicited eulogies from the CD critics, and ensured a boisterous mood at concerts and public open-air appearances in the streets of Havanna.
Report on the project
Mozart, Cuban-style :Between »Eine kleine Nachtmusik« and boisterous nightlife
The evening starts with Mozart in the original: after the melodious overture to »Die Entführung aus dem Serail«, the orchestra presents the Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat, one of the most popular horn concertos in the repertoire. The finale of the three-movement work contains echoes of the third movement of the Piano Concerto No. 22 (likewise in the key of E flat), and brims with infectious joie de vivre. How does this lively closing rondo of the popular solo concerto sound, Cuban-style? Sarah Willis and the Havana Lyceum Orchestra provide a demonstration in an arrangement by Joshua Davis. With the help of Cuban saxophonist Yuniet Lombida Prieto, the Australian trombonist and arranger has transformed Mozart's horn classic without further ado into a rondo alla mambo. The result is music that delights the ear – and makes you want to dance.
Sarah Willis commissioned another of Mozart's orchestral hits from the Cuban composer and arranger Edgar Olivero: the horn player gathers a small salsa band around her to perform his »Sarahnade Mambo«, a fascinating reworking of Mozart's famous »Eine kleine Nachtmusik«. Olivero takes up themes from the popular opening allegro of the Mozart original and combines them with the characteristic rhythms and the percussion instruments of Cuban dance music.
The concert comes to an end without Mozart: in addition to the traditional »Samba Son«, we hear two Cuban songs in an arrangement by jazz pianist and composer Jorge Aragón, who leaves plenty of scope for improvisation in his arrangements. Both Moisés Simon's »El manisero« and »Dos gardenias« by Isolina Carrillo are among the island's best-known songs. It was largely thanks to the 1997 recording of »Dos gardenias« (Two gardenias) made by the Buena Vista Social Club that this passionate love song became a classic of Latin-American music.
A classic that calls for an authentic rendering: Sarah Willis says that at first she found it difficult in rehearsal to let go and abandon the straightforward style of playing that she had learned in her classical training. A Cuban friend told her that she wouldn't be able to play the piece if she couldn't sing it. And so it came about that Sarah could be heard singing the Caribbean hit on her way to work in Berlin.
With more than 160 recordings to its credit, »El Manisero« is an international evergreen. The title translates as »the peanut seller«, and goes back to an old tradition at Cuba's street markets: in the 19th and 20th centuries, the so-called »pregoneros« would use to ply their wares songs. To be more precise: they vied with each other, singing to win over customers – virtuosity and charming tunes were guaranteed!
Text: Julika von Werder; last updated: 03.08.2021
Translation: Clive Williams
»Ich fühlte eine unmittelbare Verbindung zu meinen neuen kubanischen Musikerfreunden.«
Sarah Willis
