Ken Herman, San Diego Story, 21st June 2015
“Michael Francis climaxed his first Mainly Mozart Festival with a rousing program that had Saturday’s (June 20) sold-out Balboa Theatre patrons on their feet cheering. Like his pedal-to-the-metal Beethoven Seventh than concluded his opening night concert two weeks ago, his Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G Minor crossed the finish line with the unrelenting determination of an Olympic runner going for the gold…
…Francis’ zeal for the music of Mozart and his era explodes into vibrant tempos that test the mettle of his players, but, for the most part, not at the expense of attention to the finer points and myriad details of the score that make this music rewarding. For example, in the opening movement of the Mozart Symphony—marked Molto allegro and Francis was relishing the molto—he brought out with equal precision all of those gorgeous counter melodies that balance the shorter motifs that propel this exciting movement.
In the brisk Menuetto, he stressed the subtle cross rhythms that pepper the movement, and stepped back to allow the Trio its elegant allure. On the podium, Francis consistently rewards the attentive listener and invites a closer inspection of pieces we think we know well.
Francis also brings in unfamiliar works that he believes will provide context for understanding Mozart. On this program, for example, he offered Johann Christian Bach’s Symphony No. 6 in G Minor, a short, three-movment Italianate sinfonia that bristled with those nervous Sturm und Drang effects that swept European music after the high drama of Baroque counterpoint fell out of favor…
…As long as Francis is conducting, the festival orchestra upholds the best Mainly Mozart standards, with the bonus of a slightly more buoyant, less constrained musical profile. I await programming from him that will lift the fog of predictable, repetitive choices that have beset this festival in recent years.”
