by Danielle Dupré

Boston, MA, 26 August 2009.  Hobart Earle, currently in his 17th season as Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Odessa (Ukraine) Philharmonic Orchestra, guest conducted the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in a Mozart and Mendelssohn program on the Landmarks Festival at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade.   Over 7,000 people attended the outdoor event.

The concert, “Felix and Wolfgang,” commemorated the 200th birthday of Felix Mendelssohn with performances of Mendelssohn’s own compositions and selections from the composer who influenced him the most, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  Featuring Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mozart’s Symphony No.41 in C (“Jupiter”), and a 130th anniversary performance of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with special guest performers Mariana Green-Hill, violin, and Marcus Thompson, viola.

The Orchestra responded with great sensitivity to Earle’s subtle yet effusive conducting.  Green-Hill, the head of Boston’s Project STEP, a program in the Boston schools for young classical  string musicians, played beautifully and exuberantly.  Marcus Thompson, whose tone paired Green-Hill's masterfully and who played effortlessly, is a member of the music faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

At the end of the recital, Earle asked for a moment of silence in memory of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a great friend of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.  The Senator had recorded the narration for two original compositions for children with the Orchestra: “Make Way for Ducklings” with music by Daniel Pinkham and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” with music by Julian Wachner.

Danielle Dupré is a student at Boston University.