Sarah Willis is a tireless ambassador for her instrument, the horn, which she champions around the world. Already a horn player with the Berlin Philharmoniker, in 2014 she launched for the German television channel Deutsche Welle what was soon to become a famous programme, ‘Sarah’s Music’, a series of interviews with personalities ranging from Gustavo Dudamel to Wynton Marsalis, which presents music with warmth and in all its diversity. But Sarah’s other passion was born when she arrived in Cuba to give a masterclass. The music and musicians she met there had a huge impact on her. Since then she has gone back regularly, founding an ensemble, The Havana Horns, that originated in a flash mob filmed for ‘Sarah’s Music’.

Now she has decided to make an album combining the most famous of classical composers – ‘Mozart would have been a good Cuban’, a musician told her one day in front of a statue of the Austrian genius in the middle of Havana – and the local pride, the Cuban music that is everywhere on the island . . . With the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and its exuberant conductor Pepe Méndez, she presents Mozart works for horn and orchestra (the Concerto no.3 and the Rondo K371) alongside a Rondo alla Mambo inspired by another Mozart rondo, a Sarahnade Mambo, a Cuban Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and other treats. A number of famous local musicians take part in this recording, which also pays tribute to Cuban repertory, with the song Dos Gardenias para ti made famous by Ibrahim Ferrer and the Buena Vista Social Club. Available in CD, 2-disc DVD+Blu-ray set, or vinyl! 

Following the phenomenal success of the first Mozart y Mambo album, Sarah Willis returns to Cuba not only to record two more Mozart horn concertos but also to create a landmark original work that takes its place in Cuban music history. In Mozart y Mambo - Cuban Dances, Sarah commissions the very first Cuban horn concerto – calling on six young talented Cuban composers to each write an original dance for solo horn, strings, and percussion inspired by the most famous dance rhythms from across different regions of Cuba. Together with her beloved Havana Lyceum Orchestra conducted by José Antonio Méndez Padrón, Sarah takes us on a cross country musical road trip in this spectacular showcase of the roots and traditions of Cuba’s music and dance. Cuban Dances is Cuban music as it has never been heard before and a huge challenge for the horn player, not only technically but physically – “if you can’t dance it you can’t play it” she was told. So dance it she did! Mozart y Mambo - Cuban Dances is full of magic, energy, and passion, and Sarah’s love for Cuban music is evident in every track.

REVIEW:

Two years ago, Sarah Willis, a member of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2001 and the orchestra’s first female brass player, teamed up with musicians in Havana. The result was their joyful collaboration, Mozart y Mambo, in which she and the band played Mozart alongside traditional Cuban music. Now a second disc is out: Mozart y Mambo: Cuban Dances, with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and conductor José Antonio Méndez Padrón.

Willis is the first-class soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No 1 in D and No 2 in E flat. A seven-strong ensemble, enchantingly called Sarahbanda, perform Pa Pa Pa by Edgar Olivero, inspired by the Papageno/Papagena duet from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The fizzing Havana Lyceum Orchestra plays traditional Cuban dances, for solo horn, strings and percussion, with a difference: all have been commissioned by Willis, from six young Cuban composers. Enrique Lazaga (güiro), a member of the original Buena Vista Social Club, makes a guest appearance. With a suave rumba (with chirping cricket), bolero and cha-cha-cha – Sarahchá – this is perfect hot weather music.

This star player is put through her hornist paces and comes out dancing.

-- The Guardian

My dream of recording all four of the Mozart horn concertos has been fulfilled at last. Little did I know that this long-held dream would come true in Cuba of all places and with a Cuban orchestra! I have learned so much about Cuban music and how to dance Mozart along the way and, as a result, feel changed as a person and as a musician", says Sarah Willis. With this album - subtitled La Bella Cubana - the Mozart y Mambo trilogy is complete. After two critically acclaimed albums, three documentary films, two international tours and fundraising to help support classical musicians in Cuba, Sarah concludes this adventure of a lifetime with the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and their conductor, José Antonio Méndez Padrón by recording Mozart's Concerto No. 4 with its famous final Rondo. Also on the album, three of her colleagues from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Kelly, Wenzel Fuchs and Stefan Schweigert, join her for more Mozart, performing the Sinfonia Concertante for four solo wind instruments and orchestra. Of course, no Mozart y Mambo album would be complete without the Sarahbanda ensemble, who once again fuse Mozart with Cuban dance rhythms in Rondo alla Rumba. And what better way to say goodbye than with the most famous Cuban song of all time, Guantanamera! Let the magic of Mozart y Mambo - this music, these musicians, their interpretation, their love for the project and for each other - get you up and dancing one more time!

“The French horn is notoriously difficult to play. You can practise all you like but there is no guarantee that the note you blow into the mouthpiece is the same one which will come out of the bell once it has travelled through all the twists and turns of the tubing. However, when all goes well, the horn is glorious and I absolutely love being a horn player, even with all risks – and maybe even because of them.” (Sarah Willis) After the enormous success of Mozart y Mambo (ALPHA578) which went straight to Number 1 in Germany on release in 2020, Alpha has decided to reissue one of the first albums recorded by this multi-talented and tireless ambassador of the French horn. In this re-release of the 2014 album, Horn Discoveries, Sarah Willis demonstrates all the rich potential of her instrument with exciting original compositions and beautiful arrangements of well-loved repertoire pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Dvorak’s Humoresque, Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles and Debussy’s Clair de Lune.

Meet The Sarahbanda - the Cuban band with a twist! Formed as part of the popular Mozart y Mambo project by Sarah Willis of the Berlin Philharmonic, The Sarahbanda explores the captivating Cuban dance rhythms in a way never heard before. How? By featuring an instrument not typically included in traditional Cuban band music - the French horn. The sound of Sarah�s horn combined with Cuban grooves played by some of Cuba�s most talented musicians creates an exciting and passionate group unlike any other. With their exclusive new arrangements of some of Cuba's best known songs such as Chan Chan and Sandunguera, original compositions by members of the band, and some classical-meets-Cuban surprises, The Sarahbanda brings a whole new sound - fresh, innovative, irresistible and one you simply have to get up and dance to!

Meet the Sarahbanda - the Cuban band with a twist! Formed as part of the popular�Mozart y Mambo�project by Sarah Willis of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Sarahbanda explores the captivating Cuban dance rhythms in a way never heard before. How? By featuring an instrument not typically included in traditional Cuban band music - the French horn. The sound of Sarah�s horn combined with Cuban grooves played by some of Cuba�s most talented musicians creates an exciting and passionate group unlike any other. With their exclusive new arrangements of some of Cuba's best known songs such as�Chan Chan�and�Sandunguera,�original compositions by members of the band, and some classical-meets-Cuban surprises, the Sarahbanda brings a whole new sound - fresh, innovative, irresistible and one you simply have to get up and dance to!