Northern Lights: Scandinavian Gems lives up to its billing

The fruits of composer David Schiff's skills as an arranger were evident on Thursday, July 21st as the Chamber Music Northwest Summer Festival continued. Kaul Auditorium was the perfect acoustical space for an evening of Scandinavian composers as the program Northern Lights: Scandinavian Gems took place.

Opening the evening was a brace of works by Carl Nielsen, beginning with Serenata in vano, a work like all the works of the evening for strings and winds. This work began with a rhythmically intense three-quarter time signature dissolving into languid arias for horn and clarinet.  Exciting annunciations from the contrabass came to the forefront as the extremely well-balanced wind section swelled and receded, leaving the air cleared for exciting, razor-accurate doublings between horn and bassoon. Like much of the evening it was redolent with the richness of the Fenno-Scandia folk tradition, and was over too soon.

David Shifrin had another chance to shine as Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57 was next. This brilliant work opened with a crisp fughetta, one which Shifrin infused with electricity, and a rich, throaty sound from the basso register of his instument. The texture was widely varied...at times Shifrin was mysterious and unhurried, other times the strings spun a glorious web upon which Shifrin went spidering along, and there were great moments from William Purvis on the solo horn as well. Shifrin's playing felt like storytelling as he navigated the ever-shifting shoals with his usual grace and dexterity.

After intermission the audience was treated to the ever-popular Peer Gynt Suites, arranged for a 13-piece orchestra by Schiff.   It was an interesting dichotomy to see such a large orchestra (for this festival) on stage as Schiff spoke a bit on the challenges of boiling down these huge orchestral pieces for such (relatively) spare ornamentation. Seven of the eight movements from both suites were on the bill; Peer Gynt's Homecoming presented too large a task for the composer vis-a-vis the need for such radical reductions in the number of instruments he had to work with.

The order of presentation was different as well, so it was fun to hear these movements juxtaposed in an unfamiliar manner. Beginning with the Death of Ase, the theme shifted from primarily winds to the strings, a nice subtle change of color. It retained most of the gravitas of the full orchestral work. For Morning Mood, the sonority of all those winds didn't quite work...at times it felt a bit hokey for Grieg's grand gesture, though it was fun to watch the string players standing in bravely for an entire section. Anitra's Dance featured brilliant solo work from Matt Landry who throughout the work shifted between a number of different saxophones. Theodore Arm's solo work also stood out as particularly fine.

The Abduction of the Bride held a fascinating sonance; the winds constantly uplifting the small string band almost felt like human voices somewhere in the background. The Arabian Dance and Solveig's Song were truly delightful, especially the latter. What a joy it was to hear such necessarily sparse scoring--every single player had to be completely on top of their game or all would have been lost. Percussionist Jonathan Greeney deserves high praise for his performance, which was nothing short of heroic at times. And finishing off with In the Hall of the Mountain King? Well, how could you go wrong? Schiff's arrangement was fascinating, fun and inspired, and was a wonderful new way to hear such beloved old gems.

Oregon Symphony's Russian program satisfies...ultimately.

Simone Lamsma

The Oregon Symphony played the final night of a Russian-heavy program at the Schnitz Monday evening, featuring Shostakovich's Symphony No. 1 in F minor  and Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, featuring Dutch player Simone Lamsma as soloist.

The folks who were parking during the "parking overture" didn't miss much, unfortunately. Danish composer Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture was flat from the start, literally and emotionally. A sour start and continued pitch issues from the horns muddied what should have been a quivering, bracing opening, and the orchestra followed suit with an underwhelming delivery. Surprising, frankly, because this is the sort of thing at which the OSO usually excels.

Immediately following was the Shostakovich. This piece felt like it took a minute or two to get going, but because of its length it could afford an unfortunate if understandable 'warm-up' phase. With so many rapid-fire entrances and exits from so many sections, the orchestra had to be right on cue--constant attention to the conductor was key. They achieved this, and there were tasty treats from many sections and players, including second chair first violin...a solo executed with just the right blend of gusto and restraint.  The second movement featured brilliant switching between the principal themes as they were bandied about between the sections.

The opening of the Lento third movement featured an oboe solo floating gently like a bird soaring over a hushed sea of strings--lush and full bodied, the strings perfectly captured the mysterious spirit of the movement. The final movement closed in raging moments of brutal exclamations from the brass and percussion. Such rapidly and radically shifting moods throughout the piece required a steady and able hand, and resident conductor Paul Ghun Kim ably guided them through the treacherous course.

The second half consisted of the violin concerto, and Lamsma had the audience hooked right from the start. She opened with a fine, broad cantabile, featuring a rich lower range. Her technical brilliance was unmistakable from the start--she executed difficult chordal and scalar passages with exciting thoroughness and clarity. Her lengthy, spritely cadenza was intensely interesting, featuring daring harmonics and glissandi.

During the Finale: Allegro vivacissimo she played with a rapidfire saltando that seemed at times to throw down a friendly challenge to the orchestra: just try and keep up! My tongue is planted firmly in cheek when I say she was having far to much fun for a soloist in such a serious work.

Hilary Hahn, OSO dazzle with the Nielsen Violin Concerto

On Monday night, March 10, Portland music lovers got a chance to hear some fantastic fiddling by the virtuoso Hilary Hahn playing the Carl Nielsen violin concerto, and the OSO played some old favorites by Grieg and Richard Strauss. Guest conductor Andrew Grams took the helm for the evening.

The famous Suite No. 1 From Peer Gynt was the evening's appetizer. As the Morning Mood began, the especially warm and lush oboe was soon hidden behind over-eager strings and winds that were a bit clipped...it felt as though Grams were hurrying things along, whether to get to the less 'trite' middle movements or through fear of being thought overly sentimental who knows; in any case the strings were restrained later but by then it was a bit late to savor this mood.  The middle parts were much more judicious; the Death of Aase began like a somber requiem, the tenderest lacrimosa fading toward a barely-heard final cadence. The intense dynamics of the dance were fiercely separated, like two differing characters navigating the bipolar modality of the piece. The Hall of the Mountain King again lacked balance; the all-important ostinato was understated and at times not even heard, swallowed in the end by the cacophony.

Danish composer Carl Nielsen's Concerto for Violin was a special treat. The composition itself lacked most of the usual fireworks expected in a concerto. Hahn's playing was perfectly suited to this work. Beginning with a marvelous cantabile, she demonstrated throughout a most remarkable deftness, a clarity of diction and an evenness of form; one runs out of superlatives trying to describe playing of this kind. Poise and self-assurance were the watchwords; her blistering cadenza was yet wholly in keeping with the restrained feeling of the work.  To use the diction metaphor again, her iterations came forth purely and clearly, like a current of ideas running directly into one's understanding; an incredible sensation came across that both Hahn's and Nielsen's voices were speaking simultaneously and yet with perfect comprehensibility. Technically she was brilliant as well; in the run-up to the final cadence her chordal figurings featured difficult twittering trills that were executed with seeming ease. It was truly satisfying to watch the mind and fingers of a genius at work; this was undoubtedly some of the finest playing I have ever heard.

The second half was comprised of Richard Strauss' Aus Italien, a programmatic work describing scenes from the young composer's trip through this ancient land that has inspired poets and artists for so long. In the Country was broad and pastoral yet Grams and the OSO did not meander unsuitably; there was purpose here. The journey took us through the ruins of Rome, and one could almost see tumbled walls and the timeless dust of the ages. A shore scene was evocative and somnolent, and the piece closed with a quotation of Funiculi Funicula as a representation of Neapolitan folk life. This was OSO's premiere performance, and the decision to program this work was well-done indeed.