O-Ton Kulturmagazin 25 Jun 2026 Renate Freyeisen

Anyone wishing to be enchanted by the soft, warm radiance of the strings will find the Kaisersaal – despite the heat and the fact that this Mozartfest evening is, regrettably, not a sell-out – the perfect venue: the magnificent ambience and the sound of the Festival Strings Luceme, led by and featuring their concertmaster Daniel Dodds, vie with one another. He begins with Wilhelm Kienzl’s late-Romantic Adagio for string orchestra, in a 1919 arrangement, featuring coaxing cellos and violas and the violins’ melting legatos – an enchanting piece to savour, and here the reduced orchestra presents itself most pleasantly with an absolutely beautiful sound – the finest, somewhat nostalgic prelude to Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra in E flat major, K. 364, from 1779.

The orchestra launches into the piece with vigour, and the two soloists immediately impress with their interestingly balanced interplay: Leia Zhu’s violin – the 19-year-old, already multi-award-winning young star – enters with restraint and a delicate, singing tone, whilst Sylvia Zucker’s viola – the orchestra’s principal violist – joins in with a full, almost passionate tone. Beautiful melodic lines gradually unfold as an interweaving of the two instruments, underpinned by the horns; the viola sounds poignant, whilst the violin displays the finest delicacy in a sensitive dialogue between the two solo instruments and their respective temperaments, all in splendid harmony. In the Andante, with a wonderfully sensitive cantilena from the violin and the viola full of deep richness, the two instruments seem to breathe in unison, constantly inspiring and responding to one another anew; the cadenza radiates a wistful charm, and in the fast-moving Presto, with its subtle internal agogic rhythm, a perfect unity of orchestra and solo parts, simply bursting with life, everything becomes lighter, soaring to small climaxes until a crisp conclusion. Igor Stravinsky’s *Suite italienne*, in a 1933 version for violin and string orchestra, draws on motifs from earlier Baroque composers and is inspired by the plots and character profiles of the *Commedia dell’arte*, originally conceived as ballet music for a project by Sergei Diaghilev. Here, the young, very natural British-Chinese violinist is able to give full rein to her lively temperament, right from the friendly dialogue with the cello in the Introduzione, through a seductively melodic serenade in the Serenata; shimmering, rousing, racing along, yet also pausing delicately, the following movements are masterfully rendered; the dance-like, flowing Tarantella seems pulsed through with an inner rhythm, and a solemnly emphasised Menuetto builds towards an extremely lively, almost bewitchingly rapid, internally driven finale; the violinist’s long hair flies about, she stamps her foot involuntarily, and yet her tone remains finely nuanced throughout, whilst her technical virtuosity is mastered with apparent ease. The audience’s cheers know no bounds, and the encore impresses with magnificent virtuosity, adding an extra special touch to the whole performance. Mozart’s marvellous Symphony No. 29 in A major, K. 201, from 1774, then provides the crowning finale to an evening that exceeded all expectations. The Festival Strings Luceme tackle the opening Allegro with a smooth, lulling flow; they imbue the Andante with a delightfully floating charm, featuring delicate intervening figures and magnificent wind interludes, thus allowing the architecture of the musical structure to come to the fore. The minuet begins with delicate touches, expanding into a sensitive trio, whilst the final Allegro, with its almost exuberant grace notes, bubbles along with verve in a series of fresh bursts right through to the energetic conclusion. Thunderous applause.