If we consider the canon of established Austrian composers, Mozart and Bruckner would seemingly sit at the opposite ends of the spectrum; the irreverent child prodigy and the shy, devoutly religious late-bloomer, their music separated by the better part of a century. Yet under the baton of Johannes Fritzsch, WASO showed the two could make a compelling pairing, each with their own particular take on formal processes and the repetition of melodic material.

Mozart and Bruckner West Australian Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Johannes Fritzsch, Semra Lee-Smith (Assistant Concertmaster) and Daniel Schmitt (Principal Viola) perform during West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s Mozart and Bruckner concert.

To his Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin, viola, and orchestra, Mozart fused together the symphony and the concerto. The result, a vibrant Classical orchestral texture woven into the outline of a Baroque concerto grosso, with a pair of soloists pitted against a larger orchestra, passing themes and ideas back and forth.

The soloists of the evening were two of WASO’s own: Semra Lee-Smith (Assistant Concertmaster) and Daniel Schmitt (Principal Viola), both of whom delivered solid and poised performances just a few feet away from their usual seats. A...