No dog days of summer at Chamber Music Northwest - Part I

I attended four Chamber Music Northwest concerts and have scribbled the following thoughts - the first two of four reviews:

Review of German and Slavic Melodies - Tuesday, July 17th at Catlin Gabel School

Flutist Tara Helen O'Connor teamed up with cellist Ronald Thomas, and pianist Shai Wosner to begin the concert with Haydn's Trio No. 30 in D Major. The piece seemed to be a polite conversation between friends. The talk was light and playful, especially in the first and third movements with poignant pauses that created the sense of suspension, but at the same time added to the forward momentum of the piece. All of the artists deserve credit for keeping their composure and focus while someone's hearing added a persistent high pitch to the mix at the end of the first movement and for most of the second. The sound also undoubtedly spoiled the recording that was going on.

Next on the program came Prokofiev's Sonata in C Major for two violins, Op. 56. This rare gem received a terrific interpretation by Robert McDuffie and Amy Schwartz Moretti. The music contains all sorts of emotional mood swings that take you all over a large soundscape and the performers need to have a sort of mind meld to pull if off. McDuffie and Schwartz Moretti played brilliantly to master the difficult hurdles with meter, tempo, and volume. Sometimes they seemed to dance together on a hire wire, then jump into a kayak and plunge down some rapids, then pause in a meadow to admire a sweeping view. They made the music exciting and intriguing and worth looking for a recording of it during intermission, which followed right after they received tumultous applause from a wowed audience.

In the second half of the program, the audience got a healty dose of comfort food with the playing of Dvorak's Quintet in A Major for piano and Strings, Op. 81. Violist Scott Lee joined McDuffie, Schwartz Moretti, Wosner, and Thomas to make a dynamic performance of this beloved work. Everyone played outstandingly, but Wosner's wonderful playing of the piano part added a extra dash of magic. The audience practically jumped to their feet at the end to give a standing ovation.

Review of Lyrical Contrasts - Thursday, July 19 at Reed College

Opening with Tomas Svoboda's "Prayer," this concert made an intense, intimate, and sharply focused statement that earned the rapt attention of the audience. Written for string quartet and clarinent, Svoboda's music did sculpt a prayer. The piece started out very quietly, with two violins (played by Theodore Arm and Amy Schwartz Moretti) playing a sustained tone that grew slowly in a sort of cluster as the viola (Toby Appel) and cello (Fred Sherry) joined in. Above this blur of sound, clarinetist David Shifrin became sort of a free spirit. It was like a bird flying about on a windy day or perhaps like a series of hopes expressed when one launches a prayer. At any rate this first part of the piece came to a thoughtful end when the clarinet and the first violin ended on the same note. In the next section, the strings became more active, establishing a barnyard thrumming that the cello accented. Now and then the cello made more of an individual statement, and the clarinet would penetrate the layered soundscape with a tone that pierced through and went over the top of everyone. Then the music became more dissonant and the pitch climbed higher and higher, creating tension, but it all stopped and was followed by a complete, gradual meltdown. In the third section, the strings returned to another closely hued tone cluster and the clarinet took the lead with another free spirited foray until the music died back down to the quietness and solitude in which it began.

Although the music ended on a subdued note, the audience didn't leap to its feet, but everyone did give the performance a standing ovation that was heartfelt. All of the players brought passion to this music. I don't know where the beat was during all the sustained chords (at the beginning and end of the piece), so it was amazing that everyone played in sync. This music calls for a superb clarinetist of Shifrin's caliber who has impeccable control and artistry wrapped into one. I think that this piece has legs. It's terrific, and I would like to hear it again.

Kuhlau's Quintet in D Major for flute and strings, Op. 51, No 1, followed Svoboda's gem, and although it was delightfully played by flutist Tara Helen O'Connor, violinist Daniel Phillips, violists Appel and Scot Lee, and cellist Thomas, this music just sounded pedestrian next to the intimate beauty of Svoboda's. All of the musicians played the Kuhlau number elegantly, and they easily commanded the changes in tempo and volume, but the piece was just too charming. Every time Kuhlau worked up the nerve to light a fire for the musicians, he'd throw water on it, keeping the music tame and somewhat predictable.

Fortunately, after intermission, we got a full-body experience with Mendelssohn's Octet in E-Flat Major for strings, Op. 20. In the hands of violinists Elmar Oliveira, Phillips, Schwartz Moretti, and Arm were joined by violists Appel and Lee, and cellists Thomas and Sherry, this octet was a pure pleasure to hear and see. With one quartet next to the other the music making sometimes resembled a volleyball game. Cellist Thomas could post a note for one of his teammates who would smash it across to the other side. That side would the dig out the note and send it back over. Then it seemed that all of the players would mix up things and play with a different foursome. Thomas and Sherry played some wickedly fast passages perfectly together in the third movement. Then in the fourth movement Oliveira in a take no prisoners mood, kicked the tempo up another notch, and at the very end everyone in the audience just jumped out of their seats. It was thrilling!