What happens when Mozart meets mambo?
The infectious blend of Mozart’s famous horn concertos and his other brilliant themes with Cuban rhythms — guaranteed to get you moving — is brought to life by Berlin Philharmonic horn player Sarah Willis, Cuban musicians, and a statue of Mozart in Old Havana.
Watch a video of their collaboration as part of the Mozart y Mambo project:
Sarah Willis is bursting with energy. She shares her passion for classical music with enthusiasm and, most importantly, with great success — more than 100,000 people follow her on Instagram and Facebook, an impressive figure in the classical music world. She is a regular presence on TV and hosted the show Sarah’s Music on Deutsche Welle for several years. And she certainly knows what she wants: after a teacher once told her that the French horn was only for boys, she chose it deliberately and, in 2001, became the first female brass player to join the Berlin Philharmonic. She even managed to get the audience dancing in its chamber hall!
But let’s go back to where the story began.
Sarah Willis describes herself as loving crazy projects that mix different musical styles. Her passion project Mozart y Mambo fits this definition perfectly, blending Mozart’s horn compositions with authentic Cuban folk music. The idea for the project emerged spontaneously during her 2017 visit to Havana, where she was giving masterclasses. She had been dancing salsa for years and felt very close to Cuban music, but she was surprised by the Cuban musicians’ warm relationship with classical music. One of them even said that "Mozart would have made a great Cuban" — after all, Mozart’s music is also passionate, full of dance and improvisation, and just like Cubans, Mozart had a way with women.
These experiences led Sarah Willis to explore Cuban musical culture more deeply. She soon realised she could breathe new life into the statue of Mozart in Old Havana — and that’s how the idea for a joint performance was born.
We warmly invite you on 18 September to The New Spiral at Prague Exhibition Grounds an unforgettable evening in our new No Tie concert series.