Martha & John M. Rivers Performance Hall, Charleston Gaillard Center
June 9, 2018

The classical culmination of two-and-a-half weeks music-making saw Steven Sloane helm the impressive Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Drawn from nationwide auditions, being a member of the Festival’s resident ensemble is an opportunity for young musicians to gain significant performance experience with alumni to be found in most professional orchestras across the US and overseas. Mozart and Mahler may not be typical bedfellows, but in ideally contrasted performances, this gala concert certainly put this talented group of players through their paces.

Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Photo © Leigh Webber

Sarajevo-born pianist Pedja Muzijevic’s elegant, direct approach in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 15 – a cheerful work in B Flat that is among the composer’s less commonly played essays in the form – seemed a reasonable choice with the opening Allegro taken at a decent pace. The orchestra accompanied with considerable sympathy, their touch appropriately light and with delicately focused contributions from woodwind and horns. Sloane took pains to keep it all airy and moving along, ensuring an ideal balance across the span of the substantial first movement. The Andante’s variations and frequent...