Today's Birthdays

Marin Marais (1656-1728)
Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)
Billy Mayerl (1902-1959)
Alfred Deller (1912-1979)
Akira Ifukube (1914-2006)
Shirley Verrett (1931-2010)
Peter Yarrow (1938)
Bruce Adolphe (1955)
Marty Ehrlich (1955)

and

Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853)
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Clint Eastwood (1930)

Today's Birthdays

Riccardo Zandonai (1883-1944)
Jelly Aranyi de Hunyadvár (1893-1966)
Benny Goodman (1909-1986)
George London (1920-1985)
Gustav Leonhardt (1928-2012)
Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016)
Zoltan Kocsis (1952)
Anne LeBaron (1953)

and

Howard Hawks (1896-1977)
Colm Toibin (1955)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 30, 1923, 26-year-old composer and conductor Howard Hanson, who would later be one of the founders of the American Music Center, led the world premiere performance of his Nordic Symphony, the first of his seven symphonies and still one of his best-known works, in Rome during his residence as first holder of the American Rome Prize.

Today's Birthdays

Francesco Fanciulli (1853-1915)
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
Rudolf Tobias (1873-1918)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)
Helmuth Rilling (1933)
Michael Berkley (1948)
Linda Esther Gray (1948)
Melissa Etheridge (1961)

and

G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
Oswald Spengler (1880-1936)
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
Steven Levitt (1967)

and

from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1913, Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du printemps" (The Rite of Spring) received its premiere performance in Paris, by Diaghilev's Ballet Russe, Pierre Monteux conducting.

Today's Birthdays

Thomas Arne (1710-1788)
Josiah Flagg (1737-1795)
Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Giovanni Sgambati (1841-1914)
Sir George Dyson(1883-1964)
T-Bone Walker (1910-1975)
Nicola Rescigno (1916-2008)
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
John Culshaw (1924-1980)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012)
Thea Musgrave (1928)
Richard Van Allan (1935-2008)
Maki Ishii (1936-2003)
Elena Souliotis (1943-2004)
Levon Chilingirian (1948)

and

Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Oswald Spengler (1880-1936)
Ian Flemming (1908-1964)
May Swenson (1913-1989)
Walker Percy (1916-1990)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 28, 1957, after several discussions, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS) was born at a meeting at Hollywood's legendary Brown Derby Restaurant.

Jackiw and the Oregon Symphony put a bow on the Schumann Violin Concerto

Robert Schumann was probably on the edge of an abyss when he wrote his Violin Concert in 1853. That’s the feeling I had when I heard Stefan Jackiw play it with the Oregon Symphony under music director David Danzmayr on May 23 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. It was filled with virtuosic firepower but seemed stuck in third gear with the engine constantly revving but not necessarily going anywhere.

The concerto was one of the last pieces that Schumann wrote. The following year, he went mad and jumped into the Rhine River where he was rescued by boatmen. He then was admitted to an asylum for the insane where he died in 1856 at the age of 46.

Schumann wrote his Violin Concerto for the legendary Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, but Joachim felt that it was not up to Schumann’s standards. Schumann’s wife, Clara agreed, and the piece was sequestered in Prussian State Library for the next 80 years. Strangely enough, in 1933 a séance that involved Joachim’s grandnieces, Jelly d’Arányi and Adila Fachiri, both of whom were exceptional professional violinists, brought about the rediscovery of Schumann’s concerto. It was played for the first time in 1937 by Georg Kulenkampff with the Berlin Philharmonic for the Nazis (Goebbels was in attendance). A few days later, Yehudi Menuhin performed it in Carnegie Hall, and a little later d’Arányi did the honors in London

Schumann’s Violin Concerto opened strongly. The orchestra and the soloist elicited a robust theme that settled into a lovely melody. The piece shifted back and forth between vigorous statements and quiet passages. Jackiw and his colleagues gathered a lot of steam to surge into the final measures, capping it off with Jackiw delivering a scintillating series of double-stops. That elicited applause from all corner of the hall.

In the second movement was slower, and its main theme was tinged with sadness. Yet it seemed to lose some focus and energy, despite the incisive playing of Jackiw and variations in the dynamics.

In his opening remarks to the piece, Jackiw said that the third movement had been deemed by Joachim as unplayable, and that Joachim was right. But that assessment didn’t deter Jackiw from fearlessly launching into it and executing an unending blizzard of notes. But the music didn’t soar or go anywhere. It just spun the motor, so to speak, at a very high rpm. Jackiw’s fingers and bow were flying at breakneck speed but it was pretty much in the middle range. It was as if Schumann got stuck. Still, it was impressive to hear Jackiw interpret that unusual concerto.

Another impressive soloist at the concert was Michael Roberts, who was front and center with the marimba and a string orchestra for Gabriella Smith’s “Riprap.” With two or more sticks in each hand, Roberts created repetitive sonic waves. It was easy to picture a scene at the seashore with the ocean slapping up against a pile of large rocks that have been placed to keep the shoreline from eroding. By using various sticks, Roberts changed the colors of sound. Sometimes the sound took on a translucent quality, and at other times it became raspy. He often maintained a rhythm in one hand, but a different rhythm in the other. Just amazing!

The second half of the concert featured two works by Mozart that were not listed in the original program. The pandemic really hit the orchestra hard over the past two weeks. Even the final concert led by the orchestra’s former music director, Carlos Kalmar, the week before had to be cancelled. So Danzmayr wisely changed the program from Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner to Mozart in order to use a smaller roster

The Overture to Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” received an immaculate and exciting performance by the orchestra. The lines were clean and sparkly. Terrific dynamics included a stunning sforzando and a superb transition from an ultra-quiet pianissimo to a demonstrative triple forte. After the piece closed, I wanted singers to appear and launch into the rest of the opera!

Mozart had a lot of money problems, but he fortunately didn’t go insane at the time that he wrote his Symphony No. 40, which he completed three years before he passed away in 1791 when he was only 35 years old. Danzmayer and the orchestra showed complete mastery of this piece with exceptional dynamics that made each movement a gem. I loved how the musicians shaped their phrases, tapering off some and making others bolder. In the Andante movement, Danzmayer flicked his fingers impishly to elicit a delightfully lithe playing from the violins. Again, the dynamics and pacing were spot on throughout the piece, and that made the Mozart a sublime experience for the evening.

Today's Birthdays

Jacques Halévy (1799-1862)
Joseph Joachim Raff (1822-1882)
Louis Durey (1888-1979)
Claude Champagne (1891-1965)
Ernst Wallfisch (1920-1979)
Margaret Buechner (1922-1998)
Thea Musgrave (1928)
Donald Keats (1929-2018)
Elizabeth Harwood (1938-1990)
James Wood (1953)

and

Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910)
Wild Bill Hickok (1837-1876)
Isadora Duncan (1877-1927)
Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961)
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
John Cheever (1912-1982)
John Barth (1930)
Linda Pastan (1932)

Today's Birthdays

Al Jolson (1886-1950)
Eugene Goossens (1893-1962)
Ernst Bacon (1898-1990)
Vlado Perlemuter (1904-2002)
Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) (1916-1999)
François‑Louis Deschamps (1919-2004)
Peggy Lee (1920-2002)
Joseph Horovitz (1926-2022)
Miles Davis (1926-1991)
Teresa Stratas (1938)
William Bolcom (1938)
Howard Goodall (1958)
Armando Bayolo (1973)

and

Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837)
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
Frankie Manning (1914-2009)
Alan Hollinghurst (1954)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 26, 1953, Aaron Copland appeared before the Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) of the U.S. House of Representative.

Today's Birthdays

Thomas "Blind Tom" Bethune (1849-1908)
Miles Davis (1926-1991)
Beverly Sills (1929-2007)
Franco Bonisolli (1937-2003)

and

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)
Raymond Carver (1938-1988)
Jamaica Kincaid (1949)

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1944, Arturo Toscanini conducts the combined NBC Symphony and New York Philharmonic in a benefit concert of music by Wagner, Verdi, and Sousa at the old Madison Square Garden. The concert raised $100,000 for the Red Cross. During an intermission auction, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia auctioned off Toscanini's baton for $10,000.
I wonder where that baton is today...

Interview with Sue Dixon and Priti Gandhi about Portland Opera's upcoming season now in OAW

My recent interview with Sue and Priti was just published in Oregon ArtWatch here. I hope that you enjoy reading it!

Portland Opera production on the cover of Opera Canada - my review is inside

Cree Carrico and Sandra Piques Eddy (standing) 

A scene from Portland Opera's production of When the Sun Comes Out is on the cover of the spring issue of Opera Canada. This opera was written by Canadian Leslie Uyeda with a libretto by the American/Canadian poet Rachel Rose. My review is inside.

Today's Birthdays

Paul Paray (1886-1979)
Joan Hammond (1912-1986)
Hans‑Martin Linde (1930)
Maurice André (1933-2012)
Harold Budd (1936)
Bob Dylan (1941)
Konrad Boehmer (1941-2014)
Fiona Kimm (1952)
Paul McCreesh (1960)

and

William Trevor (1928-2016)
Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996)
Declan Kiberd (1951)
Michael Chabon (1963)

Rachel Barton Pine sparkles in Korngold Violin Concerto with VSO

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine wowed the audience at the Vancouver Symphony (May 21) with a gorgeous performance of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto. The sunny weather probably reduced the attendance inside Skyview Concert Hall, but that didn’t affect Pine. Her playing soared, and the concerto, guided by music director Salvador Brotons, became a spectacular success for the season finale.

Pine, who suffered a debilitating injury many years ago, arrived on stage driving a cherry-red electric scooter and quickly transferred herself to a piano bench on a small platform. From that pedestal, she showed her consummate skill and artistry straight away from the initial downbeat. She created sublime lyrical lines, garnished with florid runs and an absolutely sweet but not syrupy tone. Her cadenza contained exciting high notes that set the stage for a wickedly furious ending of the first movement (Moderato nobile).

For the Romanze: Andante movement, Pine and the orchestra elicited a dreamy, wistful atmosphere. The ethereal quality was enhanced by translucent halos from the vibraphone, played by Isaac Rains.

A sonic burst energized the Allegro assai vivace with Pine etching lithe figures above the orchestra. A rustic dance cut into the texture of the movement, and then Pine delivered the fleet final section with fingers (projected via cameras onto the large screen on both sides of the stage) flying all over the strings of her Guarnerius “del Gesù” violin. The orchestra gathered steam along side her with horns blazing, and the together they surged in the fireworks at the very end of the piece.

Listeners burst into a standing ovation that continued loud and long until Pine held up her violin and bow to signal an encore. With her commanding and joyful voice, she concisely described the themes of “The Red Violin Caprices” by John Corgliano (from the movie, “The Red Violin”). Its wild Paganini-like ending was absolutely scintillating and caused another eruption of applause and ovations from the audience, which accompanied Pine even after her electric chariot returned to fetch her from the stage.

It would be difficult to top Pine’s performance, but the orchestra deserved accolades for acing Alexander Glazunov’s Symphony No. 5. In fact, I liked the Vancouver Symphony’s interpretation much more than the version I had heard on the Internet. That could be in part due to Brotons, who has demonstrated masterful conducting of Russian symphonic literature over the years.

In his introductory remarks to the Glazunov Fifth, Brotons mentioned that the orchestra’s performance was dedicated to Alexander Toradze, the great Georgian-American pianist, whose final, miraculous concert took place with the VSO last month.

The lower strings opened the Glazunov with a bold, strong statement. Horns and brasses led their colleagues in a heroic, stirring theme. The woodwinds added a lyrical section. The strings were cohesive, and the brass rounded out the first movement with a boisterous, punchy ending.

The second movement featured the flute section in sprightly passages that sparkled. The strings countered with a slightly heavier theme. Brotons paced it all expertly, and the movement concluded with a twinkle.

The melancholic third movement reminded me of Tchaikovsky’s style. Principal clarinetist Igor Shakhman delivered a poignant solo. Muted horns and a menacing brass choir gave the mood a more tragic character. Lovely playing from harpist Alexis Colner led to a passage in which the orchestra climbed higher and crested into a gentle, soothing chord.

The fourth movement started with a dramatic sforzando that segued into a Russian motif. Urged on by Brotons, the orchestra deftly executed several dynamic shifts – although the horns had one troublesome spot – and the piece concluded with an exciting finale that generated a very enthusiastic response from the audience.

The rarely performed “Rip Van Winkle Overture” by George Whitefield Chadwick was sleeper hit. Distant horn calls helped to create a drowsy bucolic backdrop that was interrupted later by a turbulent section and a sweeping melody. Languorous solos by principal cellist Dieter Ratzlaf evoked the legendary character, and the orchestra executed a fine accelerando into a second theme. Later came a climatic buildup with pummeling bass drum and timpani, capping off a rousing ending.

Overall, this was an exceptional concert for Brotons and the orchestra, and it would be terrific to hear Pine again in a future program.

Today's Birthdays

Andrea Luchesi (1741-1801)
Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
Louis Glass (1864-1936)
Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986)
Artie Shaw (1910-2004)
Jean Françaix (1912-1997)
Alicia de Larrocha (1923-2009)
Robert Moog (1934-2005)
Joel Feigin (1951)

and

Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)
Margaret Wise Brown (1910-1952)
Jane Kenyon (1947-1995)

Today's Birthdays

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Johann Schrammel (1850-1893)
Minna Keal (1909-1999)
Sun Ra (1914-1993)
George Tintner (1917-1999)
Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008)
Claude Ballif (1924-2004)
John Browning (1933-2003)
Peter Nero (1934)

and

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) Laurence Olivier (1907-1989)
Peter Matthiessen (1927-2014)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 21, 1893, in an lengthy article published in the New York Herald titled "Real Value of Negro Melodies," Bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak, during his three-year sojourn in the United States, prognosticated that the future of American music should be based on "negro melodies" and announced that the National Conservatory of Music, where he was serving as Director at the time, would be "thrown open free of charge to the negro race." It was to be the first of a total of seven articles in the Herald in which Dvorak expounded these ideas which provoked comments ranging from incredulity to denunciation by composers and performers around the world including Anton Bruckner, Anton Rubinstein and John Knowles Paine.

Kalmar and Oregon Symphony reach beyond the beyond with Mahler 9

 More than two years have passed since Carlos Kalmar last stepped on the stage at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to lead the Oregon Symphony. That was in February of 2020, when the orchestra’s former music director wrapped up a series of concerts featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich in Paganini’s Violin Concerto. The pandemic body-slammed the nation, and concerts – along with pretty much any type of social gathering – were shoved out of bounds, including a big finale for Kalmar with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 that would have capped his 18-year career at the helm of the Oregon Symphony.

So, it was fitting to see the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Saturday (May 14) filled to the brim with musicians (I counted 81), to play Mahler’s Nineth Symphony.  The house was fairly full, and the audience welcomed Kalmar to the stage with a resounding standing ovation, which he acknowledged with a grateful smile and a concise, heartfelt speech.

In Kalmar’s introductory remarks, he noted the theme of the program was “the end of life” – a serious statement that could have been extrapolated in any number of directions. Thankfully, Kalmar didn’t muse on that topic, but he did mention that the first piece on the program, Within Her Arms by British composer Anna Clyne, was quickly written in response to the death of her mother.

Played by string ensemble (15 musicians evenly split from violins to the basses), Within Her Arms offered an interwoven series of sliding tones that evoked the flow of tears and sadness. The glissandi – of varying length and timbre – was accompanied periodically by sustained low tones from the basses. A couple of poignant pauses by the entire ensemble suggested the emotional struggle of someone trying to regroup and make sense of the loss. The one-movement piece was performed with great sensitivity – with Shin-young Kwon as the concertmaster (replacing Sarah Kwak, who was ill), and Kalmar emphasizing the softness of the piece by conducting without a baton. The performance was stunningly effective.

Kalmar and the orchestra did a terrific job of shaping Mahler’s Symphony No 9 despite its the sprawling and unwieldy nature. The first movement, shifting between D major a D minor, created a feeling of melancholy and farewell that was shattered now and then by menacing darkness. In particular, a blast of death uttered by the trombones and tuba completely obliterated the gentle calm that had lulled listeners with a sense of warmth. Passages built to great heights and then collapsed, bewildering sonic battles ensued, and then it all subsided into a feeling of resignation.

The second movement cleared the air with a perky rustic dance tune – introduced by principal bassoonist Carin Miller – that gathered full-fiddle-force with the violins. A waltz-like tune seemed to counter this, and the two tunes became wildly tossed about in the orchestra before settling down and finishing with the flute (Alicia DiDonato Paulsen) – representing the rustic side – getting the last word.

The onslaught of furious sound in the third movement motive was absolutely impressive and delivered with intensity. Sonic volleys seemed to erupt from each section with an occasional respite, such as the brief, tender viola solo by Charles Noble. With Kalmar urging everyone onward, the orchestra picked up the pace, surging toward the last beat.

The hymn-like opening of the fourth movement changed into many different lines and morphed through different keys yet nothing seemed to resolve. Concertmaster Peter Frajola superbly threaded the high, delicate passages. The glorious moments faded into the distance and the sound became barer and barer.  The music became slower and slower and quieter and quieter and finally vanished. There was a very long expanse of silence before Kalmar put his hands down and the applause began. The audience was touched by the depth of emotion. Kalmar singled out musicians and sections of the orchestra for their outstanding contributions. It was remarkable how he shaped the piece and kept it from detouring in any number of directions. It was a memorable performance and a highlight of the orchestra’s season.

Today's Birthdays

Joseph Parry (1841-1903)
Thomas "Fats" Waller (1904-1943)
Gina Bachauer (1913-1976)
Maurice André (1933-2012)
Heinz Holliger (1939)
Rosalind Plowright (1949)
Linda Bouchard (1957)

and

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Henri Rousseau (1844-1910)
Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989)
Robert Creeley (1926-2005)

Preview of Vancouver Symphony concert with Rachel Barton Pine in The Columbian

 

My review of this weekend's VSO concert is in The Columbian here.

Today's Birthdays

Hephzibah Menuhin (1920-1981)
George Hurst (1926-2012)
Karl Anton Rikenbacher (1940-2014)
Tison Street (1943)
Joe Cocker (1944-2014)
Cher (1946)
Sue Knussen (1949-2003)
Jane Parker-Smith (1950)
Emma Johnson (1966)

and

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

Portland Opera gives Manahan a festive send-off

Portland Opera uncorked a festive send-off for George Manahan in a special concert on Friday, May 15, at the Keller Auditorium. The 90-minute-long event featured star-power soloists, the opera chorus, the orchestra, plus a stellar last-minute replacement for the featured soprano who was suffering from a cold. Of course, at the center of it all was Manahan, leading a program of beloved numbers from the operatic catalog.

Manahan made his conducting debut with the company in 2006 and was its music director from 2012 to 2021. During that span he helmed more than 20 productions, started the Big Night gala tradition, and improved the quality of the orchestra. He has worked with opera companies from San Francisco to Sydney, and enjoys an excellent reputation with many singers, including some terrific friends who left it all on the stage for the one-time extravaganza at the Keller.

Portland’s own Hannah Penn kicked things off with a scintillating “Lo farò; dirò: spietato” from Handel’s Rodelinda. Commanding the rapid series of runs with panache, Penn deftly conveyed an aria that expressed the intensity of revenge. Her voice impressively descended into the lowest mezzo register with conviction yet maintained a vibrant and beautiful tone. Wow!

Internationally acclaimed soprano Nicole Cabell delivered a mesmerizing “Song to the moon,” from Dvorak’s Rusalka. Her velvety voice and dramatic presence were accompanied by excellent playing from the orchestra.

Unfortunately, Cabell was dealing with a cold – although you could not tell from the way she sang – and she was unable to sing the “Jewel Song” from Gounod’s Faust. She also had to withdraw from singing with Penn in the “Flower Duet” from Delibes Lakmé. It is on such occasions that careers are made, and Madeline Ross, from the opera chorus, filled in with poise and terrific moxie. She exquisitely sang the soprano part, blended terrifically with Penn, and that made the piece a highlight of the concert.

Tenor Barry Banks poured emotion and superb singing in “Parmi Veder le lagrime” form Verdi’s Rigoletto and followed that with an outstanding interpretation of the “Flower Song” from Bizet’s Carmen. Baritone Stephen Powell gave a totally compelling rendition of the “Toreador Song” from Carmen, augmented by three flirting singers from the opera chorus: Aline Bahamondez, Lindsey Johnson, and Anna Jablonski.

Powell brought down the house with an over-the-top “The Impossible Dream” from Leigh’s Man of La Mancha. Powell and Banks teamed up for an ardent “Au fond du temple saint” from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

Manahan gave a special welcome to the reigning diva of Portland’s musical scene, Sunnah Mars, proclaiming her as the best Mrs. Lovett he has ever heard. Mars then launched into an outstanding performance of “The Worst Pies in London” from Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

The opera chorus had a grand time with the “Entrance of the Guests” from Wagner’s Tannhäuser and the “Polovtsain Dances” from Borodin’s Prince Igor. The orchestra put zing into the “Overture” from Bernstein’s Candide and captivated the audience with the tender “Intermezzo” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.

Bass Andre Flynn, from the chorus, joined Ross, Penn, Mars, Banks, Powell, and all forces for an uplifting “Make our Garden Grow” from Candide to close out the show.  It was a fitting ending for an exceptional evening.  I only wish that more people would have been in attendance. Kudos to all the performers for giving every last ounce of effort into the evening, with a special nod to Ross, who topped everything with her gem of a voice. Even though the festivities, hosted graciously by artistic director Priti Gandhi and executive director Sue Dixon, put a bow on Manahan’s tenure at Portland Opera, it would be great to see him on the podium again someday in the future.

Today's Birthdays

Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-1667)
Nellie Melba (1859-1931)
Kerstin Thorborg (1896-1970)
Sandy Wilson (1924-2014)
Pete Townshend (1945)
Stephen Varcoe (1949

and

Malcom X (1925-1965)
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965)
Nora Ephron (1941-2012)

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1886, the American premiere of J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor (11 selections) was given during the May Festival in Cincinnati, conducted by Theodore Thomas. The next documented performance (12 sections) was given in Boston on February 27, 1887, by the Handel and Haydn Society, with Carl Zerrahn conducting a chorus of 432 and an orchestra of 50. In both the 1886 Cincinnati and 1887 Boston performances, the famous 19-century German soprano Lilli Lehmann appeared as one of the soprano soloists. The first complete performance of the work was apparently given either at the Moravian Church in Bethlehem on Mar 17, 1900, by the Bach Choir under J. Fred Wolf, or at Carnegie Hall in new York on April 5, 1900, by the Oratorio Society, Frank Damrosch conducting.

Review of Joshua Bell with the Oregon Symphony and Jun Märkl

Long lines led up to the Will Call window on Monday evening (April 25) for the Oregon Symphony concert, and a lot of last-minute ticket sales inside the doors seemed to be negotiated with urgency. The star-power of violinist Joshua Bell certainly had an impact, and consequently the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall looked almost as full as it does on Saturday evenings when I normally attend.

After everyone was seated, no one was disappointed because Bell and the orchestra, under principal guest conductor Jun Märkl mesmerized the house with a spectacular interpretation of Dvořák’s Volin Concerto. Bell and his colleagues gave a 150 percent – nay, a 200 percent effort in this performance. Everyone on stage was in total sync with each other. When he was not playing, Bell turned often to listen to the orchestra. Märkl was glued to Bell, and the orchestra responded with a dazzling intensity that was matched with panache by Bell.

The mind-meld started right from the downbeat with a sweeping statement from Bell and the orchestra. Their phrasing was immaculate and full of a life-force that completely enchanted the audience. Bell was in a zone as he zinged out the highest notes and conquered a mind-boggling series of runs and devastatingly tricky passages – and made it all sound absolutely gorgeous.

You could have heard a pin drop as the piece transitioned to the slow movement. Bell and company elicited the tenderest sounds before fading into the sunset. They then delved into the ebullient final movement and made it whirl and dance with elan. The audience immediately burst into a standing ovation that brought Bell back to center stage three times.

Märkl concisely introduced Arnold Schoenberg’s orchestral arrangement of Brahms’ First Piano Quartet with a bit of humor, noting that the composer was a violist and that “you should never underestimate the viola player.” (This comment had special bearing because Portland composer Kenji Bunch is a member of the Oregon Symphony’s viola section.)

According to the program notes, Schoenberg had been frustrated whenever he heard the Brahms because pianists tended to dominate it way too much. So Schoenberg got rid of the piano and distributed its part to the orchestra. The effect in this performance was stunning. The entire orchestra got into the action, and sometimes when the sound grew into a forte, it reminded me of a full-throated organ. Conducting from memory, Märkl drew a full palate of colors from the ensemble. The last movement evoked a rhapsodic and lively Hungarian dance with principal flutist Martha Long delivering a perpetual, flowing line of rapid notes that made me wonder when she was going to breathe. Cheers from all corners of the hall rang out at the conclusion with Märkl acknowledging the amazing contributions of individual players and sections of the orchestra.

Today's Birthdays

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667)
Francesco Maria Piave (1810-1876)
Karl Goldmark (1830-1915)
Ezio Pinza (1892-1947)
Henri Sauguet (1901-1989)
Meredith Willson (1902-1984)
Sir Clifford Curzon (1907-1982)
Perry Como (1912-2001)
Boris Christoff (1914-1993)
Mikko Heiniö (1948)

and

Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
Walter Gropius (1883-1969)
Frank Capra (1897-1991)
Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991)
Tina Fey (1970)

Review of An African American Requiem posted in OAW

 My review of the world premiere of An African American Requiem is now posted on Oregon ArtsWatch.  

I've been looking for another review of this concert, but I am not finding one, which is unfortunate, because this is one of the most important concerts ever in Portland. 

Oregon Symphony pivots to Mozart on for the upcoming weekend

Due to illnesses in the orchestra, the Oregon Symphony has altered its program this weekend.

Today's Birthdays

Erik Satie (1866-1925)
Werner Egk (1901-1983)
Sandor Vegh (1905-1997)
Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005)
Dennis Brain (1921-1957)
Peter Mennin (1932-1983)
Taj Mahal (1942)
Paul Crossley (1944)
Brian Rayner Cook (1945)
Bill Bruford (1949)
Ivor Bolton (1958)

and

Dorothy Richardson (1873-1957)
Alfonso Reyes (1889-1959)
Gary Paulsen (1939)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 17, 1846, Belgian-born instrument builder and clarinetist Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone, an instrument that would have a profound impact on American jazz. Over a century later, on May 17, 1957, a computer was used to make music for the first time.

Oregon Symphony performance of Mahler 9 with Kalmar cancelled for this evening

From Facebook:

The curse of the Mahler 9th!

Today's Birthdays

Richard Tauber (1891-1948)
Ivan Vishnegradsy (1893-1979)
Jan Kiepura (1902-1966)
Woody Herman (1913-1987)
Liberace (1919-1987)
Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000)
Betty Carter (1930-1998)
Donald Martino (1931-2005)
Robert Fripp (1946)
Monica Huggett (1953)
Andrew Litton (1959)

and

Maria Gaetana Agnesi (1718-1799)
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Louis "Studs" Terkel (1912-2008)
Adrienne Rich (1929-2012)

and from the New Music Box:

On May 16, 1907, Miller Reese Hutchison filed an application at the U.S. Patent Office for his invention, the motor-driven Diaphragm Actuated Horn and Resonator, for use in automobiles. The patent was granted on May 3, 1910. The carhorn would later be used as a musical instrument by numerous composers ranging from George Gershwin in An American in Paris (1928) to Wendy Mae Chambers who developed a Car Horn Organ in 1983.

Today's Birthdays

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Michael William Balfe (1808-1870)
Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986)
Arthur Berger (1912-2003)
John Lanchbery (1923-2003)
Ted Perry (1931-2003)
Richard Wilson (1941)
Brian Eno (1948)

and

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919)
Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931)
Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980)
Peter Shaffer (1926-2016)
Jasper Johns (1930)
Laura Hillenbrand (1967)

and from The New Music Box:

On May 15, 1972, the Concord Quartet premiered George Rochberg's String Quartet No. 3 at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. Rochberg, an established serialist composer, shocked the compositional scene by returning to tonality in this composition. Many cite this premiere as the birth of neo-romanticism.

Today's Birthdays

Otto Klemperer (1885-1973)
Sidney Bechet (1897-1959)
Lou Harrison (1917-2003)
Aloys Kontarsky (1931-2017)
Peter Skellern (1947)
Maria de La Pau (1950)
Helen Field (1951)
David Byrne (1952)

and

Hal Borland (1900-1978)
Mary Morris (1947)

Today's Birthdays

Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
Constantin Silverstri (1913-1969)
William Schwann (1913-1998)
Gareth Morris (1920-2007)
Ritchie Valens (1941-1959)
Jane Glover (1949)
Stevie Wonder (1950)
David Hill (1957)
Tasmin Little (1965)

and

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989)
Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989)
Kathleen Jamie (1962)

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1875, the American premiere of J.S. Bach's "Magnificat" took place during the May Festival in Cincinnati, conducted by Theodore Thomas. The Cincinnati Commercial review of May 14 was not favorable: "The work is difficult in the extreme and most of the chorus abounds with rambling sub-divisions. We considering the ‘Magnifcat' the weakest thing the chorus has undertaken . . . possessing no dramatic character and incapable of conveying the magnitude of the labor that has been expended upon its inconsequential intricacies. If mediocrity is a mistake, the ‘Magnifcat' is the one error of the Festival". Thomas also conducted the next documented performance in Boston on Mar. 1, 1876 (for which composer John Knowles Paine performed as organ accompanist to a chorus of 300).

Alexander Toradze, legendary pianist, has passed away

Alexander Toradze, who was internationally acclaimed for his interpretations of Russian music, died in South Bend, Indiana yesterday, according to several reports, including this one from Classic FM. Toradze's final performance, which he finished despite experiencing an acute heart failure, was reviewed by me in this blog.

Today's Birthdays

Johann Baptist Wanha (Vanhal) (1739-1813)
Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812)
Giovanni Viotti (1755-1824)
Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989)
Burt Bacharach (1928)
Anthony Newman (1941)
Dalmacio Gonzalez (1945)
Doris Soffel (1948)
Jory Vinikour (1963)

and

Edward Lear (1812-1888)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Rosellen Brown (1939)

Today's Birthdays

Jan Václav (1791-1825)
Anatoly Liadov (1855-1914)
Alma Gluck (1884-1938)
Irving Berlin (1888-1939)
William Grant Still (1895-1978)
Robert Johnson (1911-1938)
Ross Pople (1945)
Judith Weir (1954)
Cecile Licad (1961)

and

Martha Graham (1894-1991)
Mari Sandoz (1896-1966)
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Francisco "Paco" Umbral (1932-2007)

Review of Caroline Shaw + Goodman/Saugstad in Graveyards and Gardens

My review of this unusual performance art piece featuring Caroline Shaw and dancer Anya Saugstad - (designed by Vanessa Goodman) is now posted on Oregon ArtsWatch here.

Today's Birthdays

Jean‑Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Max Steiner (1888-1971)
Dmitri Tiomkin (1894-1979)
Maybelle Carter (1909-1978)
Artie Shaw (1910-2004)
Richard Lewis (1914-1990)
Milton Babbitt (1916-2011)
Maxim Shostakovich (1938)
Lori Dobbins (1958)

and

Karl Barth (1886-1968)
Fred Astaire (1899-1987)
Barbara Taylor Bradford (1933)

and from The New Music Box:

On May 10, 1987, David Lang, Michael Gordon and Julia Wolfe produced the first-ever Bang on a Can Marathon, a twelve-hour concert at the SoHo gallery Exit Art combining music by Milton Babbitt, Steve Reich, John Cage, George Crumb, Lois V Vierk, Lee Hyla, Aaron Kernis, Phill Niblock and others.

Today's Birthdays

Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816)
Adolph von Henselt (1814-1889)
Jacques Singer (1910-1980)
Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005)
Nigel Douglas (1929)
Billy Joel (1949)
Michel Beroff (1950)
Joy Harjo (1951)
Linda Finnie (1952)
Anne Sofie von Otter (1955)
Alison Hagley (1961)

and

James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937)
Alan Bennett (1934)
Charles Simic (1938)

Today's Birthdays

Carl Philipp Stamitz (1745-1801)
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869)
Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
Heather Harper (1930-2019)
Carlo Cossutta (1932-2000)
Keith Jarrett (1945)
Felicity Lott (1947)

and

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
Edmund Wilson (1895-1972)
Gary Snyder (1930)
Thomas Pynchon (1937)
Roddy Doyle (1958)

Today's Birthdays

Carl Heinrich Graun (1704-1759)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Anton Seidl (1850-1898)
Edmond Appia (1894-1961)
Elisabeth Soderstrom (1927-2009)
Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981)
Philip Lane (1950)
Robert Spano (1961)

and

Olympe de Gouge (1748-1793)
Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Archibald MacLeish (1892-1962)
Angela Carter (1940-1992)
Peter Carey (1943)

and from The New Music Box:

On May 7, 1946, Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering is founded with about 20 employees. The company, later renamed Sony, would eventually invent the home video tape recorder, the Walkman and the Discman, as well as take-over Columbia Records, later CBS Records, which under the leadership of composer Goodard Lieberson (1956-1973) released numerous recordings of music by American composers.

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1824, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") was premiered at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, with the deaf composer on stage beating time, but with the performers instructed to follow the cues of Beethoven's assistant conductor, Michael Umlauf.

Today's Birthdays

Jascha Horenstein (1898-1973)
George Perle (1915-2009)
Godfrey Ridout (1918-1984)
Murry Sidlin (1940)
Ghena Dimitrova (1941-2005)
Nathalie Stutzmann (1965)
Teddy Abrams (1987)

and

Robert Peary (1856-1920)
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Gaston Leroux (1868-1927)
Randall Jarrell (1914-1965)
Orson Wells (1915-1985)

Review of Marsalis tuba concerto with the Oregon Symphony published

My review of Wynton Marsalis's Tuba Concerto, which highlighted last weekend's Oregon Symphony concert, has been published in Classical Voice North America here.

Today's Birthdays

Stanislaw Moniuszko (1819-1872)
Hans Pfizner (1869-1947)
Maria Caniglia (1905-1979)
Kurt Böhme (1908-1989)
Charles Rosen (1927-2012)
Mark Ermler (1932-2002)
Tammy Wynette (1942-1998)
Bunita Marcus (1952)
Cédric Tiberghien (1975)

and

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Nellie Bly (1864-1922)
Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
James Beard (1903-1985)
Kaye Gibbons (1960)

From the New Music Box:

On May 5, 1891, Walter Damrosch led the New York Philharmonic in the very first concert in the large auditorium at Carnegie Hall, now called Stern Auditorium. The program consisted entirely of European repertoire: Beethoven’s "Leonore Overture No. 3," Berlioz’s "Te Deum," Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky "Festival Coronation March" (with the composer making a guest appearance on the podium), the hymn "The Old One Hundred" and "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (then America's unofficial national anthem although the tune is that of the British anthem "God Save The Queen").

This was not actually the first concert in the building, however. On April 1, Liszt-pupil Franz Rummel had already given an all-European solo piano recital in the space that now holds Zankel Hall. The oldest known program for the third of Carnegie's stages, what is now called Weill Recital Hall, a chamber music concert produced by the Society for Ethical Culture, dates back to October 31, 1891 and included the song "At Twilight" by the American composer Ethelbert Nevin.

Preview of An African American Requiem posted in Musical America

 My preview of An African American Requiem was posted in today's edition of Musical America. You need a subscription to Musical America to read it.

Interview with classical guitarist Sharon Ibsin published on OAW

My interview with the phenomenal classical guitarist Sharon Isbin is now posted on Oregon ArtsWatch here.

Today's Birthdays

Marianne (Anna Katharina) von Martínez (1744-1812)
Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731)
Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek (1860-1945)
Mátyás Seiber (1905-1960)
Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993)
Roberta Peters (1930-2017)
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (1931-2018)
Marisa Robles (1937)
Enrique Batiz (1942)
Peter Ware (1951)

and

Horace Mann (1796-1859)
Frederick Church (1826-1900)
Graham Swift (1949)
David Guterson (1956)

Classical Up Close concert this Wednesday at First Immanuel Lutheran

Classical Up Close will present a free concert at my congregation this Wednesday at 7 pm. The church is located at NW 19th and Irving St. The only requirement is to wear a mask.

Here is the program:

JEAN MARIE LECLAIR (1697-1764)
Sonata in C Major, Op. 3 No. 3
Adagio-Vivace
Adagio
Allegro
Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 12, No. 6
Andante
      Greg Ewer and Adam LaMotte, violins

JOSE PABLO MONCAYO arr. M. SANOVAL (1912-1958)
Huapango
      Shin-young Kwon and Emily Cole, violins
      Maia Hoffman, viola
      Marilyn de Oliveira, cello


INTERMISSION

PETER TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
String Sextet in D minor “Souvenir de Florence”, Op. 70
I. Allegro con spirito
II. Adagio cantabile e con moto
IV. Allegro vivace
      Sarah Kwak and Ruby Chen, violins
      Ningning Jin and Vali Phillips, violas
      Pansy Chang, cello
      Braizahn Jones, doublebass

Today's Birthdays

Alessandro Stradella (1639-1682)
Richard D'Oyly Carte (1844-1901)
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Bing Crosby (1903-1977)
Sir William Glock (1908-2000)
Léopold Simoneau (1916-2006)
Pete Seeger (1919-2014)
John Lewis (1920-2001)
James Brown (1933-2006)
Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012)

and

Niccol Machiavelli (1469-1527)
Jacob Riis (1849-1914)
May Sarton (1912-1995)
William Inge (1913-1973)
Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000)

From the New Music Box:

On May 3, 1943, William Schumann received the very first Pulitzer Prize for Music for his Secular Cantata No. 2 - A Free Song, a work published by G. Schirmer and premiered by the Harvard Glee Club, the Radcliffe Choral Society, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitzky on March 26, 1943.

and from the Composers Datebook:

On this day in 1971, debut broadcast of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" was made with an electronic theme by composer Don Voegeli of the University of Wisconsin (In 1974, Voegeli composed a new electronic ATC theme, the now-familiar signature tune of the program).

Today's Birthdays

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Jean‑Baptiste Barrière (1707-1747)
Ludwig August Lebrun (1752-1790)
Hans Christian Lumbye (1810-1874)
Carl Michael Ziehrer (1843-1922)
Lorenz Hart (1894-1943)
Alan Rawstorne (1905-1971)
Jean‑Marie Auberson (1920-2004)
Arnold Black (1923-2000)
Horst Stein (1928-2008)
Philippe Herreweghe (1947)
Valery Gergiev (1953)
Elliot Goldenthal (1954)

and

Jerome K Jerome (1859-1927)
Dr. Benjamin Spock (1904-1998)

Today's Birthdays

Marco da Gagliano (1582-1643)
William Lawes (1602-1645)
Sophia Dussek (1775-1831)
Hugo Alfvén (1872-1960)
Leo Sowerby (1895-1968)
Jón Leifs (1899-1968)
Walter Susskind (1913-1980)
Gary Bertini (1927-2005)
Judy Collins (1939)

and

Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)
Joseph Heller (1923-1999)
Bobbie Ann Mason (1940)