Mainly Mozart tries drive-in concert at Del Mar

Mainly Mozart is putting on a full-scale orchestra festival from October 17 - 24 and you can attend it live, no streaming required. The concerts are in a drive-up format at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

When I think of an outdoor orchestral concert, I think of a pops concert but this is straight-up classical fare. For instance, the first concert includes Vivaldi’s evergreen masterpiece, The Four Seasons.

The next classical concert, on Tuesday, October 20, has Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 Classical, Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8. A few years back, the festival orchestra turned in a performance of Prokoviev’s Classical Symphony that I deemed to be unsurpassable. I’ll be keen to hear it again.

Later that week, Mozart’s Symphony No. 41: Jupiter and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5: Emperor come together on Thursday, October 22. It doesn’t get any more classical than that.

The final concert, Saturday, October 24, has Salieri, Mozart, and Mendelssohn. I’ve never heard a live performance of any of Salieri’s music. The Mozart is his famous Sinfonia Concertante and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4: Italian concludes the festival.

The orchestral players will all be tested for Covid-19 prior to rehearsals starting. I spoke with Jun Iwasaki who is the concertmaster of the Nashville Symphony and principal second violin for Mainly Mozart. Jun thinks the orchestra’s ability to listen to each other will be the main challenge in these concerts.

Jun explained that normally the orchestra is packed in close together. One of the reasons for that is it allows the orchestra members to listen to each other.

“I think it will be very interesting having everyone on their own stands, socially distanced, and outside. I look forward to the challenge because I know all these musicians are going to overcome it. We can still do this.

Speaking of the orchestra, the roster is loaded with top players from across the country. The concertmasters of the LA Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Atlanta Symphony, Nashville Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, and St, Paul Chamber Orchestra will all be playing in the violin section.

Members of the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, and others will fill out the rest of the orchestra. This is a best of the best orchestra and it is performing live.

Tickets for the festival start at $45 per car. Find more information at the Mainly Mozart website.