Chamber Music Northwest premieres a new concerto by David Schiff at Concertos through the Centuries.

David Schiff

The CMNW Summer Festival continued on Monday, July 8 with a program entitled  Concertos through the Centuries, featuring works by Bach, Brahms, and a newly commissioned chamber concerto by long-time festival collaborator David Schiff.

The first piece, Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C Minor by Bach (BWV 1060R)  left much to be desired. While recognizing that this concert did not purport to use period instruments or historically informed performance techniques, still there are things that can be imitated on modern instruments: the dry saltando of a gut string, or the quavering softness of an un-keyed hole, for instance, and certainly conscientious phrasing and attention to small details can go along way in giving a baroque 'feel' to a performance on modern instruments (as was later achieved in the second Bach concerto of the evening.) All of these performers are aware of that, yet it was not apparent from this performance. While possessed of a full and even rich timbre, the outing was plagued by mushy phrasing and lack of a strong pulse.

The world premiere of Schiff's Chamber Concerto No. 1 for Clarinet and Ensemble was a different matter entirely.  The opening movement, Playing with Friends (Jeux d'Enfants) must have been a somber game to start, but with Schiff directing, David Shifrin navigated these still waters with a delicious huskiness on his clarinet, and was joined by bassoonist Julie Feves for some hypnotic chordal work. It exploded into a cacophonous exultation, followed by a dizzying solo turn for the clarinet. A saucy pizzicato from the strings and spare punctuations from the percussion sounded more like childish jubilation; one felt a bit of Bernstein at times. As the strings and horns burst into wild discord and the percussionist dished out ridiculously tasty syncopations, it was as fun as eating too much candy when you're six years old...and then subito al niente.

The second movement, Arietta, seemed to border on the humdrum at times until it all began to make sense in the larger context of the movement. By the end everything came together and it was truly poignant. The last movement, Rondo al'ebraica, was true to its title. Wild and wonky, non-traditional but unmistakably klezmer,  Shifrin was constantly simmering on the clarinet, always threatening to explode into a full rolling boil but somehow never reaching that crest. The percussion was fascinating, as long, expansive hits on the ride cymbal lay a groundwork for the wild partying above.

The Brahms was a scaled down version of the Adagio from Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major. Arranger Daniel Schlosberg did duties as the soloist.  Sophie Shao's broad, comely cello solo complemented the rich and convincing arrangement. Yearning and poignant, the piano and cello loomed out of the dense texture like a purring of enamored titans. Schlosberg's huge solo work made the whole thing feel like a cloud on which one could dream and never want to wake.

The final concerto of the evening was Bach's Brandenburg No. 4, (BWV 1049) and it suffered from none of the lethargy of the evening's opener.  There was crispness of articulation from the flutes and a judicious, minimalist rubato from violist Yura Lee. The interplay between the ripieno and concertante was absolutely seamless and exciting. The Andante was heavy-handed yet not unlovely, and in the finale the solo work from the concertante was magnificent. Lee's job as band-leader held everything together; her unflagging pace and vibrant playing set the tone that everyone followed.

Chamber Music Northwest delves into Romanticism in works by Del Tredici and Schubert

Photo credit: Tom Emerson

Chamber Music Northwest showed that Romanticism is alive and well in a program consisting of a newly composed “Bulllycide” for Piano and String Quintet by David Del Tredici and the “Octet” in F Major for Winds and Strings by Franz Schubert. Both pieces, played on Monday, July 21st, at Kaul Auditorium, were imbued with strong harmonic lines, and they received intense performances by the CMNW musicians and enthusiastic applause from all corners of the concert hall, which was fairly full.

“Bullycide” was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest in a consortium that included the La Jolla Music Society and Peak Performances at Montclair State University. The piece honors five gay men who were victims of bullying. After reading newspaper accounts of the bullying, Del Tredici felt moved, in part by reflections on his own experience, to write “Bullycide.” It is a piano sextet that is split into two parts with four movements for each part. The movements flow into one another without pause, and the music follows a trajectory that runs from a spirited beginning to a tragic ending.

For the past 25 years, Del Tredici (age 77) has been the Distinguished Professor of Music at The City College of New York. In the 1970s, he pioneered neo-Romanticism as a direct counterweight to the prevailing atonal style and never looked back. Completed in 2013, “Bullycide” is a continuation of Del Tredici’s journey into the landscape of complex harmonies.

The performance that I heard featured pianist Orion Weiss, violinists Ani Kavafian and Bella Hristova, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, cellist Sophie Shao, and bass violinist Samuel Suggs. Weiss was the only member of the ensemble who had performed the piece before (at the premieres at La Jolla and Montclair), and his playing seemed to be the glue that made this piece very engaging. Often the Weiss created a sonic presence that cascaded over and around the strings. Lots of sweeping arpeggios and scintillating ornamentation gave the piece a lush sonority that reminded me of Tchaikovsky at times. The strings played with conviction, sometimes in conversation with each other and at other times in distinctly different corners. A muted and aggressive pizzicato section effectively suggested the violence against the five men and after two brief pauses the musicians used loud stage whispers to recite (I think) the names of each man. One of the highlights of the piece was a lovely solo violin part that Kavafian played while the other strings created a soft, undulating background. Towards the end, the music picked up tempo and later relaxed into a simple tune that was childlike and hopeful. Del Tredici was in the audience and came up on stage to join the performers in accepting the heartfelt and sustained applause.

Photo credit: Tom Emerson

After intermission, the stage was given over to the famous “Octet,” which Schubert wrote during a time in which he was depressed because he was suffering from syphilis. The six movements of this hour-long extravaganza received an incisive performance from the ensemble, which consisted of violinists Hristova and Kavafian, violist Ngwenyama, cellist Fred Sherry, bass violinist Suggs, clarinetist David Shifrin, bassoonist Julie Feves, and hornist William Purvis. The group played with an élan, and the mood bounced with a light foot during the dance-like sections. The liquidy-smooth sound of Shifrin’s clarinet was superb and in the last movement, his fleet fingers made several crazy runs sound like the easiest thing in the world. The rumbling tremolo from Sherry’s cello was another outstanding passages that fortunately was repeated. He seemed to inspire the entire ensemble, and, again the audience rewarded the music making with heartfelt applause.

Photo credit: Tom Emerson

Bella Hristova, Ani Kavafian, and Nokuthula Ngwenyama - photo credit: Tom Emerson