Sarah Willis - Mozart y Mambo - Presto Classical

I’ve been slightly wary of classical/dance music fusion ever since a childhood brush with the Hooked on Classics compilations (fellow 1980s babies may sympathise), but the sheer joie de vivre of this irresistible album swept away all my preconceptions. The Havana musicians play ‘straight’ Mozart with the same rhythmic vitality which they bring to Edgar Olivero’s mambo-influenced take on Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and the closing track, El manicero, had me quite literally dancing in the (fortunately deserted) street on an evening stroll last week. Willis, predictably, plays like a dream throughout.