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| Gili Loftus (SergioVeranesStudio) |
The Witches? Festival (music director:
David Shemer), an annual event under the auspices of the Jerusalem Baroque
Orchestra, addresses the subject of women composers and performers in music.
"Mozart: the Girl Prodigy", taking place in the conference hall of
the Jerusalem International YMCA on September 17th, 2024, was presented by
keyboard artist Gili Loftus (Canada-Israel), performing on a fortepiano by Chris
Maene (Ruiselede Belgium, 2009), a copy of an instrument by Walter, 1790,
Vienna. The lecture-recital shed light on W.A.Mozart's elder sister Maria Anna,
usually referred to as Nannerl, their mother Anna Maria Walburga Mozart and on
the close ties within the Mozart family.
Hearing readings on how Nannerl toured
Europe with her father (Leopold) and younger brother Wolfgang, we
understand that she was far from being in her brother’s shadow. In fact, in a
letter, Leopold Mozart had written that "my little girl, although she is
only 12 years old, is one of the most skilful players in Europe.” Nannerl also
composed. In a painting by Johann Nepomuk Della Croce 1780/1781 showing the
siblings at the keyboard, Leopold standing at the side, with a portrait of
(the deceased) Anna Maria on the wall, we see that Wolfgang and Nannerl
continued to engage in music-making into their late 20s. When Nannerl reached
marriageable age, her father stopped taking her on tour. She carried on
composing until her marriage in 1784. Sadly, no works of hers survive.
For the first musical item of the evening,
Gili Loftus was joined by David Shemer to perform Mozart's Sonata for Piano
Four-Hands in D major, K. 381/123a (1772), a piece Wolfgang and Nannerl played
when touring Europe as child prodigies. (They would most likely have played it
on the harpsichord, since the hammered fortepiano did not replace the former
until the following decade. The lack of dynamic markings in the manuscript
probably indicates that the piece was indeed written for harpsichord.) The artists
addressed the work's large (somewhat orchestrally-conceived) range of gestures and textures in the effervescent outer movements, the Andante (second) movement's
direct songfulness, with its effective use of low bass tones, enriched by some
imaginative ornamenting, to be followed by the comic-opera-style repartee of
the final Allegro molto.
A far cry from Mozart's cheerful, spry
sonata oeuvre composed up to that point, Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor,
K.310/300d, the first of only two Mozart piano sonatas in minor keys, was
composed in the summer of 1778. At that time, the composer was visiting Paris
and tending to his ailing mother. She would die there on July 3rd. Mozart was
22. (Although the sonata's darker "terrain" tends to be linked to the death of Mozart’s mother, and this cannot be ruled out, there is no
authentic evidence that points to such a connection.) Following the energy
generated by the bold, defiant gestures of the opening movement, Loftus'
playing of the second movement (Andante cantabile) was poignant, reflective and
resourcefully embellished, emerging with an air of spontaneity, then to be
swept aside by her candid, energetic reading of the Presto, her meticulous
finger-work producing each gesture with clarity. An outstanding performance!
Georges Bizet, a virtuoso pianist
himself, transcribed the entire "Don Givanni" opera for piano
solo at the request of Heugel & Cie (published 1866). Loftus made a hearty
reference to Mozart the opera composer with three movements from "Don
Giovanni" (arr. Bizet/Loftus), her spirited, forthright and genial
presentation of moments from this "dramma giocoso" emerging
characterful, vividly conveyed and engaging the fortepiano's imposing timbral
and dynamic palette. With Zerlina's sweetly coquettish aria "Vedrai
carino" (You'll see, dear one) sandwiched between the zesty Overtura and
the cheeky "Eh via buffone" (Go on, fool), this item made for vivid,
entertaining concert fare.
The recital concluded on a personal note, with Gili Loftus'
pensive, insightful rendition of the Largo from Sonata in A minor Wq 50/3 by
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
Known for her expertise on fortepiano,
modern piano and harpsichord, for her publications and for her solo- and collaborative
performances, Gili Loftus today makes her home in Montreal.
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