Program Notes
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
PIANO CONCERTO NO. 27 IN B FLAT
MAJOR, K. 595
Duration: ca. 30 minutes
“If people could see into my heart, I would almost
have to be ashamed,” Mozart wrote to his wife in
March 1791. “Everything is cold for me – ice cold.’’
Depressed and with less than nine months to live,
Mozart lacked the support of a once-dedicated
Viennese audience, and could no longer afford
to produce his own concerts. In his final public
appearance, in a hall on Vienna’s Gate-of-Heaven
Street, he took third billing behind two other
performers, sitting at the keyboard for the last
of his more than two dozen piano concertos. By
December, his body lay in an unmarked grave, and
his Requiem sat unfinished on his writing table.
If the Piano No. 27 in B Flat Major is Mozart’s
valedictory statement in the form, he doesn’t go out
THE FLORIDA OR 46 CHESTRA | 2018-2019
with a splash. His final keyboard concerto expresses
sadness and resignation, and with a subtle touch.
There are few displays of virtuosity or fanfares
announcing the triumph of the human spirit. It
contains no percussion, and trumpets are absent.
But a current of lyricism runs through all three
movements, adding a conversational, chamber-like
quality to the whole.
“There’s a certain nostalgia in this concerto,’’
said Anne-Marie McDermott, the soloist in this
weekend’s performances. “It’s a miracle to me that
for everything he had written up to this point, that
he could create such profound simplicity. Maybe on
some level he was aware that he would die soon,
although it’s a tough question to answer. But I have
a sense that he was aware of how little time he had
left. You hear it in the music.’’
The best of Mozart’s piano concertos, particularly
the late works, combine three essential elements –
an instinctual feel for the keyboard, symphony and
opera – which together elevate them to the highest
Deah McReynolds
holds a master’s
of music degree in
choral conducting
and bachelor’s of
arts degree in music
education from the
University of South
Florida. She is artistic
director for Lumina
Youth Choirs and
conductor of Lumina
Stele and Voci de
Lumina. These choirs have toured throughout the
United States and internationally presenting concerts
in Ireland and Canada. In 2018, McReynolds
conducted the Lumina Youth Choirs in a combined
performance at Carnegie Hall.
An active adjudicator and clinician, McReynolds
regularly works with high school, middle school,
and elementary school choirs, ensembles and solo
musicians across Florida. Most recently she served
as conductor of the 2018 Hillsborough All-County
H.S. Women’s Choir and the 2018 Pinellas All-County
Elementary Honors Chorus. She has been conductor
for the Hillsborough County Fine Arts Festival
Mass Choir since 2014.
McReynolds is the outreach and education conductor
for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay. As conductor
for the Master Chorale Ensemble Singers, she
helped create and launch the Outreach and Youth
Education Initiative. This program brings in-class
workshops and formal concert experiences to thousands
of elementary students in both Hillsborough
and Pinellas counties each year. While attending
USF she conducted the USF Chamber Singers, Collegium
and Collegiate choirs.
In addition to her work with Lumina and The Master
Chorale of Tampa Bay, McReynolds currently serves
as artist associate faculty at the University of Tampa
where she teaches voice.
DEAH McREYNOLDS
Music Director