Ticciati teams up with Levin and the Age of Enlightenment in all-Mozart concert

Who would’ve thought that there’s an up-and-coming conductor with a mop of Gustavo Dudamel-like hair who is younger than Dudamel himself? Well, the 26-year old Robin Ticciati is just such a fellow. Starting this fall, Ticciati begins his first season as principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Since 2007, he has been the music director of Glyndebourne on Tour and has already conducted several top-tier orchestras in Europe and has become the youngest conductor at La Scala (in 2005) and the Salzburg Festival (in 2006).

At this summer’s Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Ticciati made his U.S. debut with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a highly-acclaimed period ensemble, which Ticciati has already conducted. The performance took place on Sunday (August 16) in the afternoon at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall, and the all-Mozart program featured pianist Robert Levin in the Piano Concerto No. 22 (K.482).

The concert opened with “Les petits riens” (“The little nothings”) (K.a10), which consist of short ballet pieces that Mozart wrote as a 17-year-old. Musicologists have not determined how many of the pieces – other than the overture – were really Mozart’s, but in any case, Ticciati and the orchestra began this 16 minute work with a loud splash of sound. Some of the pieces were tender and slow while others were rambunctious and fast. One of the numbers featured some exceptional flute playing by Lisa Beznosiuk and Neil McLaren. A barnyard-like dance number made its appearance near the end before the piece closed with a piece that sounded much like the overture.

Next on the program came the piano concerto with Levin playing a fortepiano. I learned from Levin’s pre-concert lecture and recital (Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K.576) that the fortepiano was a copy of a Haydn piano that dated back to 1795. This piano uses knee levers instead of pedals and was tuned in unequal temperament.

Levin played the concerto with characteristic precision and excitement, and the orchestra showed plenty of enthusiasm as well. However, due to the lack of volume from the fortepiano, its sound got completely buried by the orchestra whenever they were going at full tilt. Of course, when only parts of the orchestra played or when Levin had an exposed solo section, then the piano could be heard clearly, and it sounded marvelous. I enjoyed the exuberance that Levin brought to this piece, but he is a bit of a ham when he took his bow at the end. Maybe that’s the way that Mozart would’ve done it… or maybe not.

After intermission the orchestra played Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 (K.550). I thought that the Ticciati and the orchestra showed its best hand with the last movement, because they kept the music interesting with lots of interesting pacing and changes in volume. Some of the other movements were not nearly as intriguing. It was as if the orchestra and conductor used most of their rehearsal time to go over the fine points of that fourth movement and sacrificed the earlier ones. I should add that the horns, played by Roger Montgomery and Martin Lawrence, were truly outstanding throughout the piece. The audience (which filled the hall to capacity) rewarded the orchestra and conductor with sustained applause, so the concert was a success or at least mostly a success.

Today's Birthdays

Jacopo Peri (1561-1633)
Mario Bernardi (1930)
Dame Anne Evans (1941)
Maxim Vengerov (1974)

and

Eliel Saarinen (1873-1950)
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
Eero Saarinen (1910-1961)

All-Beethoven program with Vänskä and Sudbin almost catches fire

(Photo of Osmo Vänskä)

It might have been the weather outside Avery Fisher Hall that caused the all-Beethoven concert with Osmo Vänskä and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra to ignite yet not catch fire. New York City was in its first week of 90 degree weather and absolute humidity, and the air conditioning at the concert hall was running at full blast on Saturday evening (August 15). But even without the heat, Vänskä, who is the music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, displayed the energy of a conductor half his age with furious stickwork, and the orchestra responded with urgency in a program that consisted of the Overture to “Coriolan” (Op. 62), the Symphony No. 8 (Op. 93), and the Piano Concerto No. 4 (Op. 58) with the dashing Russian guest artists Vevgeny Sudbin. The end result was a “Coriolan” that needed more dynamic contrast between pianissimos and crescendos, a piano concerto in which the orchestra wasn’t as crisp as it should’ve been, and a Beethoven 8 that should’ve got the audience off of its feet, but didn’t .

I’m wondering if the placement of the orchestra was partly too blame. For this concert, the instrumentalists sat on a stage that extended into the hall. As a result, part of the audience could sit in risers on the stage behind the orchestra and to either side of it. So even though I sat midway to the back of the main level of seating (orchestra level), I left the concert wondering if I had missed out on the excitement of the concert. This concert marked Sudbin’s orchestral debut in New York, and he did play very well. In fact, he made the music look easy and never overstated his ability with affected gestures or glances at the audience (a la Lang Lang). I heard bravos and some of the audience did stand for him, but listeners didn’t just jump to their feet. On the other hand, perhaps Sudbin’s publicists didn’t hype him enough.

I would like to hear Sudbin again, and experience Vänskä’s conducting as well. Vänskä seems to garner rave reviews wherever he conducts; so this concert with the festival orchestra struck me as slightly off his mark.

Finally, I noticed that the concertmaster of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra was Kyu-Young Kim. Kim is a member of the Daedalus Quartet, which played at Chamber Music Northwest a few weeks ago.

Today's Birthdays

Georges Enescu (1881-1955)
Allan Monk (1942)
Gerard Schwarz (1947)
Rebecca Evans (1963)

and

Samuel Richardson (1689–1761)
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)
Frank McCourt (1930-2009)

Adams’ A Flowering Tree blossoms at Lincoln Center

One of the loudest splashes at this year’s Mostly Mozart Festival (now in its 43rd year) was made with “A Flowering Tree,” an opera written by John Adams as a commission in 2006 by Lincoln Center for the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Originally premiered at the New Crowned Hope festival in Vienna, Austria, this production of “A Flowering Tree” took place at the Rose Theater (in the Time Warner Center). I attended the performance on Friday, August 14th and was very impressed with the engaging new music that Adams created and the exciting performances by the principals and the chorus.

Drawing on a story from India that dates back at least 2000 years, “A Flowering Tree” tells how a young woman , Kumudha, wants to support her mother and sister because they are facing financial hardship. The Kumdha does this by using a certain ritual that transforms her every night into a flowering tree. Her sister harvests the petals from the tree and then helps to transform the tree into Kumudha again. The family sells the petals at the market every day, and all goes well until a young prince see the transformation process. A love story ensues, but not without misunderstanding, envy, and hardship – all of which cause the prince and Kumudha a lot of suffering until they are reunited at the end of the story.

The narrator, sung superbly by baritone Sanford Sylvan, of this tale plays a very important role, because “A Flowering Tree” only has two other principal singers plus a chorus that takes on multiple roles. The warmth and empathy in Sylvan’s voice enhanced the storytelling and complimented the top-tier performances of soprano Jessica Rivera as Kumudha and tenor Russell Thomas in the role of the Prince. Rivera’s singing conquered a very wide range of notes and emotions with conviction, depth, and passion. Thomas sang with the urgency and fervor of a young man who is deeply in love.

Other stars in this production were the members of Schola Cantorum de Venezuela, which conveyed several roles in the story, such as the prince’s sister. This chorus, singing some passages in English and others in Spanish, displayed a thrilling sound. Adams threw a lot of shifting meters and rhythmic complexities at them, but they made it all look completely natural. Almost astounding was an extended section when they sang on off beats. It was as if the entire chorus had Tourette's syndrome, yet it wasn’t improvised. Rather it was all carefully scripted by Adams.

Part of the story was related by three dancers: Rusini Sidi, Eko Supriyanto, and Astri Kusuma Wardani, which worked very well for the most part. They represented different characters in the tale, and helped to move the narrative forward. In the second act, there was a point in which the Prince sang to one of the dancers who represented Kumudha even though Kumudha was standing next to the dancer. That seemed confusing to me – or I misread the situation altogether.

Adams skillfully conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke’s , which played with utter conviction. Much of the orchestral score was only for the strings; so extended period of the opera sounded more like a chamber opera. I was happy not to hear any electronic music or amplification of the kind that Adams had used in “Dr. Atomic.” He has plenty of great ideas in his music to communicate with the audience.

The stage direction by Peter Sellars gave the characters lots of movement and helped to tell the story fairly clearly. The costume design by Gabriel Berry was very colorful for the chorus and the narrator, but why did the prince and Kumudha wear blue jeans? At least Kumudha got to switch to more traditional Indian garb in the second half. The lighting seemed fine, but I missed the splashes of color on the floor of the stage (two elevated platforms) because of my seating.

It was also a relief to find out that none of the characters in this opera preached to the audience about how people ought to live (a message that plagued “Dr. Atomic”). In “A Flowering Tree,” the audience gets to ponder over the events of the story, and that’s part of the reason that this opera is one of Adams’ best.

Today's Birthdays

Antonio Saleri (1750-1825)
Basil Cameron (1884-1975)
Ernest MacMillan (1893-1973)
Dame Moura Lympany (1916-2005)
Goff Richards (1944)
Tan Dun (1957)

and

Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922-2008)

Today's Birthdays

Henri Tomasi (1901-1971)
George Melly (1926)
Edward Cowie (1943)
Jean-Bernard Pommier (1944)
Heiner Goebbels (1952)
Artur Pizarro (1968)

and

Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
V. S. Naipaul (1932)
Jonathan Franzen (1959)

Today's Birthdays

Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861)
Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Jacinto Guerrero (1895-1951)
Ralph Downes (1904-1993)
Bill Evans (1929-1980)
Sarah Brightman (1959)
Franz Welser-Möst (1960)

and

William Maxwell (1908-2000)

Subway bassoonist

A bassoonist from Juilliard was playing a Vivaldi piece in the subway at 79th and Broadway.



BTW: It was over 80 degrees in the subway, so this fellow was working hard to get a few bucks and some practice. The subway trains are airconditioned, but the platform areas are pretty toasty.

Photos from MCANA panels

Yesterday, Frank Oteri, aka Mr. New Music Box, led a discussion with special guest John Adams. Here's a photo:



And in the afternoon, another panel discussed thinking outside the box:



Panels members in the photo from left to right are New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini, general director of the Met Peter Gelb, muisc director of Le Poisson Rouge Ronen Givony, and New Yorker music critic Alex Ross.

Today's Birthdays

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912)
Albert Spalding (1888-1953)
Jaques Ibert (1890-1952)
Leon Theremin (1896-1993)
Lukas Foss (1922-2009)
Aldo Ciccolini (1925)
Oscar Peterson (1925)
Rita Hunter (1933-2001)
Anne Marie Owens (1955)
James O'Donnell (1961)

and

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859)
T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935)
Julia Child (1912-2004)

Brief update from the music critics conference at Lincoln Center

Since arriving in NYC this morning, I've met with Charlie Seidenburg, the PR guy at the Metropolitan Opera, taken a tour (with my MCANA colleagues) of Lincoln Center with Betsy Vorce, the PR lady at Lincoln Center, and the project manager (I didn't get his full name). Alice Tully Hall and a lot of other parts of Lincoln Center have undergone or are still undergoing renovation to the tune of 1.6 billion smackers (if I heard that correctly).

The tour was followed by a facinating lunch conversation with composer John Adams, and that meeting was followed by another interesting discussion with Peter Gelb, general director of the Metropolitan Opera,Ronen Givony, music director of Le Poisson Rouge, Anthony Tommasini,chief music critic of the New York Times,and Alex Ross,classical music critic of the New Yorker.

Now I'm off to experience Adams' new opera "A Flowering Tree."

Tomorrow morning, I'll be part of a panel that will discuss blogging about classical music.

I'll have a more thorough report of the above meetings later.

Today's Birthdays

Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876)
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892-1988)
Ferruccio Tagliavini (1913-1995)
Georges Prêtre (1924)
Yuri Kholopov (1932-2003)
Cecilia Gasdia (1960)

and

John Galsworthy (1867-1933)

Today's Birthdays

Sir George Grove (1820-1900)
John Ireland (1879-1962)
George Shearing (1919)
Louis Frémaux (1921)
Don Ho (1930-2007)
Sheila Armstrong (1942)
Kathleen Battle (1948)

and

Nikolaus Lenau (1802-1850)

Today's Birthdays

Heinrich Biber (1644-1704)
Buck Owens (1929-2006)
Huguette Tourangeau (1940)
David Munrow (1942-1976)
Pat Metheny (1954)
Stuart MacRae (1976)

and

Robert Southey (1773-1843)
Edith Hamilton (1867–1963)
William Goldman (1931)

Music critics to meet in NYC

I'll be in New York City to attend the annual meeting of the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA), hear some panel on topics pertinent to critics, and listen to some great concerts. One of the panels will have the eminent critic Alex Ross on it, and one of the lunch sessions will feature opera composer John Adams. Concert-wise, I'll hear John Adam's latest opera, "A Flowering Tree," a concert by Osmo Vanska and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and a concert by the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment.

For details about the MCANA conference, see the mcana.org web site.

Today's Birthdays

J. Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954)
Ginette Neveu (1919-1949)
Raymond Leppard (1927)
Alun Hoddinott (1929)
Tamás Vásáry (1933)

Today's Birthdays

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936)
Douglas Moore (1893-1969)
Leo Fender (1909-1991)
Marie-Claire Alain (1926)
Edwin Carr (1926-2003)
John Aldis (1929)
Alexander Goehr (1932)
Giya Kancheli (1935)
Bobby Hatfield (1940-2003)
Dmitri Alexeev (1947)
Eliot Fisk (1958)

Music of Arvo Pärt rings true in Cappella Romana’s Odes of Repentance concert

Few contemporary composers have discovered a new style that has depth, presents challenges for the performers, and has garnered a measure of popularity among listeners, but Estonian composer Arvo Pärt has accomplished all these things. Pärt’s distinct musical style, called tintinnabulation, was put on vocal display in a concert by Cappella Romana on Friday (August 7) evening at St. Philip Neri Church.

The concert program, entitled “Arvo Pärt: Odes of Repentance,” consisted of selections from Pärt’s Orthodox works arranged in the form of a “service of supplication.” This service, sung Church Slavonic by the Cappella Romana without instrumental accompaniment featured odes from Pärt’s “Kanon Pokajanen” (“Kanon of Repentance”), as well as his “The Woman with the Alabaster Box, and selections from his “Triodion.”

In tintinnabulation, the notes of a triad are maintained in slow arpeggios or drones while other voices unfold melodies on the notes of the scale. Because Pärt writes most of his music to religious texts, some critics refer to tintinnabulation as “holy minimalism.” Yet even though Pärt works with a sparse number of notes, the total effect – with the voices of a high-caliber ensemble like Cappella Romana – much larger, thicker, and ultimately mesmerizing.

This was a very demanding concert: over an hour’s worth of singing by an ensemble of seven men and seven women who did not take a break to drink some water. Conducted by artistic director Alexander Lingas, the ensemble used a straight tone (no vibrato), kept the blend in equal proportions, and built terrific crescendos. The singers created moments that pulsated and others that conveyed utter calm and restfulness. Sometimes the men had the drone and at other times the women had it. The basses executed notes that sounded almost subterranean at times (like on the word “burial” in “The Woman with the Alabaster Box.”). The sopranos soared to the highest peaks several times, including a fitting “that our souls may be saved” in “Ode 3” near the end of the concert. I think that I heard a wobbly note here and there, but, all in all, this was an outstanding performance.

At the beginning of the concert, when Cappella Romana’s executive director (and one of the ensemble’s baritones) Mark Powell introduced the concert program, I thought that the nave of St. Philip Neri would have far too much reverberation, but because the ensemble stood very close to the front row of listeners and the amount of hang time for each tone was absolutely perfect. The church was filled to capacity, and after the last note died away and Lingas lowered his hands, the ensemble received long, sustained applause from an audience that seemed to appreciate every note as well as the words of repentance.

Seattle Opera will do Tristan und Isolde next summer

Seattle Opera has announced that they will produce Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in the summer of 2010. This production will be conducted by Asher Fisch, and it will feature stage direction by Peter Kazaras, sets and costumes by Robert Israel, and lighting by Duane Schuler. Principal singers include Annalena Persson in her Seattle Opera Debut as Isolde, Clifton Forbes as Tristan, Margaret Jane Wray as Brangäne, Stephen Milling as King Marke, and Greer Grimsley as Kurvenal.

Here is additional information from Seattle Opera's press release:

With thousands of Wagner enthusiasts from around the world arriving in Seattle for a nearly sold-out Ring cycle which opens today, General Director Speight Jenkins announced that Seattle Opera will present Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde July 31 through August 21, 2010, continuing its dedication to presenting the works of Richard Wagner. The company last staged Tristan in August 1998.

The new production of Tristan will be directed by Peter Kazaras, who is staging his first production of the opera, with costumes and sets designed by Robert Israel. This is the first collaboration for the pair. Maestro Asher Fisch, principal guest conductor at Seattle Opera, will lead the production.

“Over the last few years, director Peter Kazaras and designer Robert Israel have separately given Seattle Opera some of our most exciting evenings in the theater,” Jenkins said. “No opera offers more of a theatrical challenge then Tristan und Isolde. The imagination of these two artists will give Seattle a Tristan to conjure with.”

An opera whose score influenced subsequent composers positively and negatively more than any other ever composed, Tristan und Isolde tells a tale of longing. The two lovers, Tristan and Isolde, seek constantly to consummate their love, united finally only in death.

Swedish soprano Annalena Persson will make her United States debut as Isolde, with tenor Clifton Forbis singing Tristan. Forbis was last seen at Seattle Opera as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca in 2001, and has subsequently sung Tristan with many of the world’s major opera companies. Several veterans of Seattle Opera’s renowned Ring des Nibelungen production will return to Seattle for next summer’s Tristan. Soprano Margaret Jane Wray, currently performing Sieglinde and the Third Norn, will return to sing Brangäne, Isolde’s handmaiden. Greer Grimsley, currently singing Wotan in this summer’s Ring, will sing Kurwenal, a role he sang in the company’s last Tristan production, in 1998. Danish bass Stephen Milling, who sang Fasolt and Hunding in the 2001 and 2005 Ring productions, returns to the company to sing King Marke.

Maestro Asher Fisch has conducted Wagner’s Parsifal, Lohengrin, and Der fliegende Höllander for Seattle Opera. He won a 2007 Seattle Opera Artist of the Year award for conducting Richard Strauss’s Rosenkavalier and the 2006 International Wagner Competition.

Director Peter Kazaras, the artistic director of Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program, has directed several Young Artists productions, as well as Bellini’s Norma and Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro on Seattle Opera’s mainstage. He will return to stage Verdi’s Falstaff in February and March 2010. Kazaras has a long history with Seattle Opera as a singer as well as director, performing in such roles as Loge in Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen. He is also a professor and Director of Opera Studio at UCLA.

Designer Robert Israel made his Seattle Opera debut with Die Walküre in 1985, and went on to design sets and costumes for the Ring production that was performed through 1995, as well as sets for Catán’s Florencia in the Amazon and Verdi’s Macbeth. He also designed both sets and costumes for the production of Wagner’s Parsifal.

Today's Birthdays

Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)
Solomon Cutner (1902-1988)

and

Izaak Walton (1593-1683)
John Dryden (1631-1700)
Philip Larkin (1922-1985)

Two reviews in Opera magazine

The August issue of Opera magazine (UK) features my reviews of Portland Opera's "The Turn of the Screw" and "La Calisto." I'm not sure that this magazine is sold at any magazine shop in Portland, but it is available at the Central Library.

Today's Birthdays

Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Adolf Busch (1891-1952)
André Jolivet (1905-1974)
Benny Carter (1907-2003)
Josef Suk (1929)
Jacques Hétu (1938)

and

Elizabeth Tallent (1954)

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg talks about her new album with the New Century Chamber Orchestra

Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is known internationally known for her dynamic and virtuosic performances, but over the past few years she has successfully launched her own record label (NSS Music) and just last year she became the music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, a top-tier ensemble that is based in San Francisco. On August 11th, Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New Century Chamber Orchestra are releasing their first album (on the NSS label) called “Together.”

“Together” contains the world premiere recording of “Impressions: Suide for Chamber Orchestra,” by Clarice Assad, “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla, “Romanian Folk Dances” by Béla Bartók, and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” by George Gershwin. In this album, Salerno-Sonnenberg performs as concertmaster and soloist, and you can tell right away that she has inspired her colleagues in the New Century Chamber Orchestra to give each piece everything they’ve got.

Last week, I talked to Salerno-Sonnenberg over the phone about her endeavors and her new collaborative recording.

Now you’re a triple threat as soloist, music director, and record producer. You must have a hectic schedule?

Salerno-Sonnenberg: It’s awful!

That’s a lot on your plate!

Salerno-Sonnenberg: I don’t know what I’m doing! What was I thinking!

I’ve been a soloist all my life, and it wasn’t until recently that I thought of exploring the business end of the music industry. I started my own label, and after that I signed a contract with New Century to become its music director. So now I seem to spend all of my time either on the computer or on the phone. I scramble to find time to practice!

How did you select the pieces for the album?

Salerno-Sonnenberg: Clarice Assad wrote the “Impressions” for New Century. “It’s a great work that begins with a theme and variations and reflects Assad’s impressions of the orchestra and me. This piece has been an instant success for us, and we decided to kick off the album with it.

When I first performed with New Century as a guest artist, I was learning Piazzola’s “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” It was the perfect piece for me, and our performance went so well that I thought we’ll have to do it again! After I became music director of the group, we opened our first concert series with it and; so it became obvious that we should record it as well.

The Piazolla work that we perform is actually an orchestration by Leonid Desyatnikov that links the Piazolla’s music with the Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” Desyatnikov put in the quotes from Vivaldi and made the piece really wild.

In regards to the album, we thought that we could give it thematic shape. We had the Brazilian dance movement in the Assad and Piazolla’s tango; so we thought that we’d add Bela Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances. Basically, we loosely based the album on dances and added the Gershwin as an encore.

Are the solos in the Assad piece improvised?

Salerno-Sonnenberg: They aren’t improvised, but she can write music so that it sounds that way. She has a terrific gift for that.

Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances is a good change of pace.

Salerno-Sonnenberg: There aren’t many recordings of Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances in the string orchestra version. I’ve wanted to do this piece with my orchestra and put our own in spin on it. I changed the arrangement somewhat so that I could spread the solos around the orchestra. I think that this piece fits perfectly with the Piazolla, which is so wild. I mean, you don’t want to hear a Tchaikovsky serenade after that.

It’s obvious from your playing that you love Gershwin’s “Bess, You Is My Woman Now.”

Salerno-Sonnenberg: Yes, I’ve played that piece my whole life. This is an arrangement by Jascha Heifetz, and he arranged almost everything from “Porgy and Bess” and tons of other Gershwin numbers. I played these “Porgy and Bess” selections from the time that I was real young because of my mother. She had heard Heifetz play some of them, and she got them – for violin and piano – for me. A friend of mind, David Rimelis, transcribed the piano part to the strings, and I’ve been playing that piece as an encore with orchestras for quite a few years.

So now that you are juggling three demanding careers when do you sleep?

Salerno-Sonnenberg: [Laughs!} Yeah, well a couple of hours a night. I sleep on planes. I’m blessed with very good health and a lot of energy. I’m lucky genetically to have that. It’s all working well for me, and I figure that while I have the energy, interest, and desire to do these things, I’m going to do them.

From the start, the chemistry between me and the New Century Chamber Orchestra was so natural and so obvious that it literally changed my life. It’s like all of a sudden you find out that you’re going to have a baby. So you change your life because it’s important to you. You find the time. New Century is an orchestra deserves world-wide recognition because of the outstanding music that they make. I’m going to help them to accomplish their goals as long as I can.

My focus is on being unique and to stand apart. For me, as concertmaster of the ensemble, I have to lead, but I have to blend as well. That’s a lot different than what I’m used to when I stand in front of an orchestra and play the solo. But I hate to mark in the bowings for everything.

I hope to see you with New Century some day soon.

Salerno-Sonnenberg: We are going to go on tour – not this season – but in the following season. I can’t say where we will tour right now, but I know that it’s being worked on.

Today's Birthdays

Henry Litolff (1818-1891)
Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946)
Karel Husa (1921)
Felice Bryant (1925-2003)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1977)
Garrison Keillor (1942)
Ian Hobson (1952)
Christian Altenburger (1957)

Cappella Romana sings Arvo Pärt

Tomorrow (Friday), Cappella Romana will sing a concert of Arvo Pärt's music at 8 pm at St. Philip Neri Church. The program includes:

- Triodion
- The Woman with the Alabaster Box
- The Kanon of Repentance (excerpts)
- Ode 6, Kontakion, Oikos, Ode 8, Ode 9, Prayer after the Kanon

For more information, click here.

William Byrd Festival starts this weekend

Lovers of English Renaissance music will get a complete meal with the William Byrd Festival which starts this weekend and runs until August 23rd. The festival offers two concerts, several lectures, and five liturgical services. For more information, click here.

Free La Traviata performance with Richard Zeller at Washington Park

Portland SummerFest will present a free performance of La Traviata at Washington Park at 6 pm tomorrow (Friday) at the Washington Park Amphitheater. Portland's own Richard Zeller, who has sung many times at the Metropolitan Opera and with Portland Opera will sing the role of Germont pere. Amy Hansen creates the role of Violetta, Mark T. Panuccio will sing Alfredo, and Anna Jablonski will be Flora.

In secondary roles, you will hear Stacey Murdock as The Marquis, Jeffrey Larkin as Gastone, Jonathan Picht as Baron Douphol, Sarah Kim as Annina, and Scott Ingham as Doctor Grenvil. Kieth Clark conducts. For more information, click here.

Today's Birthdays

Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677)
Mary Carr Moore (1873-1957)
Karl Ulrich Schnabel (1909-2001)

and

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)

With Chan - new Chinese music sounds great at the Chinese Garden

(Photo by Stephen Llewellyn)

It would be difficult to find a better setting for the new Chinese pieces that pianist Susan Chan performed on Tuesday evening at the Chinese Classical Garden in Portland. The lush foliage, still waters of the big pond, and graciously curved rooftops of the traditional buildings in the Garden seemed to enhance the pieces that Chan chose for the second half of her program. She played very atmospheric works by Doming Lam, Somei Satoh, Alexina Louie, and Tan Dun, and it was easy to go along with the impressionistic sounds of each piece. Chan's sensitive playing of these works were interrupted by noises from airplanes, trucks, trains, fire engines, and loud pedestrians. But none of these sounds derailed Chan's performance at all. In fact, it seemed that she was enjoying them as a sort of accompaniment.

It looked as if around 200 people attended the concert, which featured almost an hour's worth of pieces from Western composers in the first half. Chan played works by César Franck (arranged by Harold Bauer), Frederic Chopin, and Franz Liszt. I sat behind and to one side of the piano for this part of the program, and I'm sure that I didn't get the full measure of Chan's performance. The numbers by Bauer and Chopin became a little too soft, and the Liszt needed more fire. But I think I didn't receive the full sonic effect of what Chan was playing. So, after the first half ended, I moved to a much better location that took advantage of some speakers. That's why I left the Garden with a wonderful impression of the Chinese pieces.

Chan has released two albums of music on the MSR Classics label and has established a reputation for interpreting music from the Orient and the Occident. If you get a chance, you should hear Chan on these recordings. To replicate the experience of hearing Chan in the Chinese Garden, you just have to get the music on your iPod and visit the Garden at your leisure.

Today's Birthdays

Leonardo Leo (1694-1744)
Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896)
Hans Gál (1890-1987)
Erich Kleiber (1890-1956)
Stoika Milanova (1945)
Mark O'Connor (1961)

and

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)
Conrad Aiken (1889-1973)

Jennifer Larmore plumbs the depths of royal tragedies in brilliant recording

Jennifer Larmore has a gorgeous voice that she displays to wonderful effect in “Royal Mezzo,” an album released last year by Cedille Records. Containing secular cantatas by Barber, Berlioz, Ravel, and Britten, this recording is a treasure trove for Larmore, who soars to highest peaks and dives to the uttermost depths in each piece. In this musical journey, Larmore gives us insightful performances of privileged women who find themselves (with one exception) in tragic circumstances. In other words, there are no light-weight, frilly pieces in “Royal Mezzo.” This album is the stuff of grief and resonance. And Larmore, singing with the Grant Park Orchestra under the direction of Carlos Kalmar, combines rich timbre and urgency to get to the heart of each work.

The recording begins with “Andromache’s Farewell” by Barber. This cantata tells how Hector’s wife says goodbye to her son. After the Fall of Troy, the conquering Greeks wanted to make sure that Hector, the mightiest Trojan warrior, would have no prodigy to avenge his death. So they intend to cast the young boy off the walls of the city. Larmore sings passionately of Andromache’s frustration, anger, and ultimately her shame at not being able to help her son out of this predicament. Taken together with superb playing by the orchestra, Larmore delivers a performance that transcends time and place.

In Berlioz’s “La mort de Cléopâtre” (“The death of Cleopatra”) Larmore compellingly channels the defiance of the Queen of the Nile, who, though once the favored lover of Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, has fallen into the hands of Octavian and cannot bear his disdain. Through Larmore, we can easily hear Cléopâtre summon all of her mental and physical strength before she relinquishes herself to her fate. The orchestral part often reminds me of the “Symphonie Fantastique,” and the overall effect of the music is grandiose and ultimately tragic.

Larmore and the orchestra create an elusive, dreamlike state with their performance of Ravel’s “Shéhérazade.” The music swims about in waves that rock gently back and forth, and the text describes fantastic images in distant shores. Lamore shapes her words with graceful sensitivity until the final notes dissolve and the imagery subsides and disappears.

To my ears, Britten’s “Phaedra” is the most challenging and interesting of the works on this album. Here is the dilemma of a woman who has fallen in love with her stepson. Yet the stepson does not feel the same way towards her. She consequently banishes him, and he is killed by a sea monster. In her remorse, Phaedra commits suicide by taking poison.

One of the most remarkable points in “Phaedra” comes when Larmore’s sings in her lowest register “I love you. Fool! I love you.” It’s the sound of a depraved woman who knows that she is trapped and cannot escape. But how can an almost guttural sound become the most haunting phrase of a tremendous piece of music? Well, with Larmore’s astounding singing, that happens. Give Larmore a tierra and a standing ovation.

Today's Birthdays

Henry Berger (1844-1929)
Albert W. Ketèlbey (1875-1959)
Louie "Satchmo" Armstrong (1901-1971)
William Schuman (1910-1992)
Arthur Butterworth (1923)
Jess Thomas (1927-1993)
David Bedford (1937)
Simon Preston (1938)
Deborah Voigt (1960)
Olga Neuwirth (1968)

and

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
Raoul Wallenberg (1912-1947?)

Seattle Opera's Ring video series

Seattle Opera has produced five videos that serve as a great way to get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to create Wagner's Ring Cycle. General director Speight Jenkins hosts the series, and in the first video, he talks to many of the singers about their preparation and viewpoints. But the video also includes some great rehearsal footage as well:



For all five videos (Rehearsal, Costumes, Sets & Props, Effects, and Music) click here.

Today's Birthdays

Louis Gruenberg (1884-1964)
Antonio Lauro (1917-1986)
James Tyler (1940)
Simon Keenlyside (1959)

and

P. D. James (1920)
Hayden Carruth (1921-2008)

Today's Birthdays

Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975)
Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-1963)
Marvin David Levy (1932)
Anthony Payne (1936)
Gundula Janowitz (1937)
Richard Einhorn (1952)
Angel Lam (1978)

and

Irving Babbitt (1865-1933)
Isabel Allende (1942)

Portland Festival Symphony starts this weekend

Lajos Balogh will conduct the Portland Festival Symphony in a series of free summer concerts. All of the concerts begin at 6 pm.

Here's the schedule:

Saturday, August 1st, Cathedral Park
Haydn: Symphony No. 104
Haydn: Horn Concerto - Bill Stalnaker, Soloist
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)
Haydn: Toy Symphony (with children participation)

Sunday, August 2nd, Washington Park
Souza: Stars & Stripes For Ever
Haydn: Symphony No. 88
Mendelssohn: Nocturne (Midsummer Night's Dream)
P.D.Q. Bach: Octoot
Haydn: Trumpet Concerto - Fred Sautter, Soloist
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)
Haydn: Toy Symphony (with children participation)

Saturday, August 8th, U.S. Grant Park
Haydn: Symphony No. 104
Haydn: Cello Concerto - Andrew Dunn, Soloist
Haydn: String Quartet Op.1, No.3 – Lyric Arts String Quartet
Mendelssohn: Nocturne
Beethoven: Symphony No.3 (Eroica)
Haydn: Toy Symphony (with children participation)

Sunday, August 9th, Peninsula Park
Haydn: Symphony N0. 88
Parry: An English Suite
P.D.Q. Bach: Octoot
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)
Haydn: Toy Symphony (with children participation)

Saturday, August 15th, Laurelhurst Park
Haydn: Symphony No. 104
Mendelssohn: Nocturne
Haydn: String Quartet Op.1, No.3 -Lyric Arts String Quartet
Beethoven: Symphony No.3 (Eroica)
Haydn: Toy Symphony (with children participation)

RAIN Date for any of the concerts: Monday, August 17th, Washington Park

For my interview with Balogh last year, click here.

Today's Birthdays

Francis Scott Key (1779-1843)
Morris Stoloff (1898-1980)
William Steinberg (1899-1978)
Lionel Bart (1930-1999)
Ramblin' Jack Elliott (1931)
André Gagnon (1942)
Jerry Garcia (1942-1995)

and

Herman Melville (1819-1891)
Ernst Jandl (1925-2000)
Madison Smartt Bell (1957)

Upcoming auditions for Vancouver Symphony (WA)

From the press release:

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will hold open auditions for its upcoming 31st season on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 2009 from noon-6 pm at the VSO offices at 1220 Main Street, Suite 410 in downtown Vancouver, WA.

For a list of all pieces to be played, or more information, contact VSO Orchestra Manager Douglas Peebles at (503) 318-9137 or orchestramgr@vancouversymphony.org.

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a 70-member professional orchestra presenting outstanding guest artists and varied programs October through May in a six-concert season. The first concert of the season will be on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 when Maestro Salvador Brotons returns for his nineteenth season as music director and conductor to Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW 139th Street, Vancouver.

Today's Birthdays

Norman Del Mar (1919-1994)
Steuart Bedford (1939)
Reinhard Goebel (1952)
Randall Davidson (1953)

and

Primo Levi (1919-1987)
J. K. Rowling (1965)

Linda Magee's "Bird Sheet Music" service

Linda Magee, executive director of Chamber Music Northwest and over-the-top bird lover, knows how to have some fun! This humorous photo is one in a series that Magee and Craig Fisk made that shows Magee taking/faking a phone order for some score of Stravinsky's "Firebird." The phoney bird is Casey, which Magee/Fisk adopted a few months ago. According to Magee, Casey is "19 years old, pretty docile and mostly very sweet."

For the complete humorous slide show, click here.

Today's Birthdays

Gerald Moore (1899-1987)
Meredith Davies (1922)
Moshe Atzmon (1931)
Paul Anka (1941)
Teresa Cahill (1944)
Alexina Louie (1949)
Christopher Warren-Green (1955)

and

Emily Brontë (1818 - 1848)
Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929)
Henry Moore (1898-1986)
William Gass (1924)

Pianist Susan Chan to play at the Chinese Garden

Pianist Susan Chan will be perform on Tuesday (August 4) at 7:30 pm at the Chinese Gardens. This concert is part of the Twilight Series at the Portland Classic Chinese Garden. Chan's East-West program will consist of works by Doming Lam, Somei Satoh, Alexina Louie, Tan Dun, Franck, Chopin, and Liszt.

For more information (including ticket prices) about Chan and her program, click here.

Alicia DiDonato Paulsen to give free recital at The Old Church

Alicia DiDonato Paulsen, the fabulous assistant principal flutist with the Oregon Symphony, will give a free recital on Tuesday (August 11th) over the noon hour at The Old Church. On the program is music by Gaubert, Bach, Feld, and Gandolfi. Pianist Susan DeWitt Smith will accompany Paulsen.

Here's some background information about Paulsen:

Paulsen is originally from Stoneham, Massachusetts. Prior to joining the Oregon Symphony, Ms. Paulsen had a long and varied freelancing career in Boston, where she was the flutist for Boston Musica Viva, Radius Ensemble, NotaRiotous (Boston Microtonal Society’s chamber ensemble), and Prana (a soprano/flute duo with acclaimed singer Jennifer Ashe). She was a member of the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, and Firebird Ensemble, and frequently appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. A former member of the New World Symphony, Ms. Paulsen has twice been a Tanglewood Music Center fellow and has also participated in the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Musical Spring in St. Petersburg (Russia), Costa Rica Music, and the Rockport Chamber Music Festival. She is the former flutist for both the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and the Remix Ensemble (Porto, Portugal), and was a 2005 New Fromm Player at Tanglewood. Ms. Paulsen's chamber music collaborations include appearances with the Emerson String Quartet and the Borromeo String Quartet. Additionally, she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Santa Fe Symphony, the New World Symphony, and New England Conservatory's Wind Ensemble and Sinfonietta.

Today's Birthdays

Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951)
Charles Farncombe (1919-2006)
Avet Terterian (1929-1994)
Mikis Theodorakis (1925)
Peter Schreier (1935)
Bernd Weikl (1942)
Olga Borodina (1963)

and

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)
Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006)
Paul Taylor (1930)

Oregon Arts Commission and Oregon Cultural Trust award millions in grants

The Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust have handed out a lot of money lately to a variety of non-profits connected with the arts, humanities, and heritage.

Arts Commission operating support, $1,087,000
Arts Commission stimulus funding, with NEA funds: $306,700
Direct stimulus grants, in Oregon, from the NEA, $350,000 (included OAC's stimulus announcement)
Oregon Cultural Trust, $1,452,030

Here's the run down on grants given to organizations that present classical music:

Ashland

Chamber Music Concerts, $5,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season including 12 concerts and master classes, convocations, lectures/performances and school programs.

Rogue Valley Symphony Association, $4,000
Operating Support: To support the 41st season in Ashland, Grants Pass and Medford; a December candlelight concert; and concerts for 3,000 elementary students from Medford, Grants Pass and Ashland school districts.

Bend

Sunriver Music Festival Inc, $3,500
Operating Support: To support the festival’s annual two‐week summer concert series, featuring a world‐class orchestra and prestigious soloists, plus a November to May series.

Corvallis

Corvallis Youth Symphony Association, $4,000
Arts Learning: To support string classes for 3rd‐5th grade students in the Corvallis School District, and a 6th grade orchestra at one middle school. Students perform two public concerts per year, in addition to performances at school assemblies and community events.

Eugene

Eugene Concert Choir, $4,000
Operating Support: To support the 90‐voice masterworks chorus, as well as a chamber choir and the Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble.

Eugene Opera, $12,000
To support the Donor Expansion and Stabilization (DOCS) project, which includes acquiring software to track donors and prospects; development of an electronic newsletter; a website re-design; and the hiring of a professional telemarketing service.

Eugene Symphony Association Inc, $7,000
For a Youth Concert series at the Hult Center, reaching elementary, middle and high school students within a 75-mile radius of Eugene.

Eugene Symphony Association Inc, $40,000
Operating Support: To support the 44th season including concerts at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts; school and community‐based education and outreach programs; professional artist development programs; and regional radio broadcasts.

Oregon Bach Festival, $10,000
To support musicians’ broadcast fees and enable eight Bach Festival 2009 concerts to be heard on radio worldwide.

Oregon Bach Festival, $12,000
Operating Support: To support the festival which presents more than fifty performances, educational programs and community events featuring world‐class artists in Eugene and Portland.

Oregon Mozart Players, $5,000
To expand audience by hiring a noted orchestra marketing consultant. The project focuses on experience-enriching strategies, successfully implemented at dozens of orchestras across the country, to attract and retain new concert-goers. This marketing initiative includes knowledge-sharing and collaboration with other Eugene-based arts organizations.

Oregon Mozart Players, $5,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season with performances at the Hult Center, other venues in Eugene/Springfield and run‐out concerts to other Oregon cities.

The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, $16,000
Operating Support: To support year‐round programming, including two concert series of more than 125 concerts across a wide variety of genres, and a community music school for more than 500 students.

Medford

Peter Britt Gardens Music & Arts Festival Association, $8,000
Operating Support: To support the outdoor concert series featuring over 40 performances in a variety of genres. Now in its 47th season, Britt also offers arts learning through pre‐concert lectures, summer talent development camps and a daily classical music listening program in area public schools.

Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon, $6,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season providing young musicians from Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties with training and performance opportunities.

Newport

Newport Symphony Orchestra, $3,500
Operating Support: To support the only full‐time professional symphony on the Oregon coast during the 2009‐10 concert season.

Pendleton

Oregon East Symphony, $5,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season including five public concerts, two youth concerts, a community Christmas Concert and musical education opportunities for rural youth.

Portland

Cappella Romana Vocal Ensemble, $8,000
Operating Support: To support a professional concert season of music inspired by Byzantium, Russian and western European classical music.

Chamber Music Northwest, $16,000
Operating Support: To support the 39th season of concerts and educational activities in Portland, including the Summer Festival series of 26 concerts in five weeks, with pre‐concert discussions, open rehearsals and outreach performances.

Columbia Symphony Orchestra, $4,000
Operating Support: To support the season of subscription concerts in downtown Portland and the Metro area, as well as Meet the Beat, an education and accessibility program for children and their families.

Ethos Music Center, $18,000
Operating Support: To support education and outreach programs, including the Music Corps, an urban outreach program placing music educators in schools and community centers; Music Lessons for Kids, in‐house music education programs, and Music Across Oregon, a rural outreach program.

Friends of Chamber Music, $10,000
Operating Support: To support the sixth longest‐running chamber music series in the nation, including the Classic Series, the Not So Classic Series, the Vocal Arts Series, and an educational outreach program.

MetroArts Inc., $3,000
Operating Support: To support a competitive training program and performances by the region’s most gifted young musicians, and a summer camp for children ages 7‐12 that offers instruction in music, dance, visual arts and theater.

Oregon Symphony Association, $18,000
Operating Support: To support the symphony’s 2009‐10 season featuring 15 classical concerts, a four‐program Pops Series, two outdoor concerts, and the Community Music Partnership.

Oregon Symphony Association, $8,500
Arts Learning: To support the Community Music Partnership in Tillamook, a project designed to help rural communities create and implement music education programs by utilizing symphony resources to connect to local assets.

Pacific Youth Choir, $5,000
Operating Support: To support the choir’s seven choruses of singers age 6‐19, performing a broad range of choral literature.

Portland Baroque Orchestra, $18,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐2010 season of 28 performances of eight programs in Portland and the mid‐Willamette Valley.

Portland Chamber Orchestra, $6,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐2010 season of concerts, in Portland and Hillsboro.

Portland Festival Symphony, $3,000
To celebrate Joseph Haydn’s 200th anniversary by performing five free concerts of his music in Portland parks during August 2009.

Portland Opera Association, $25,000
To produce the Northwest premiere of Phillip Glass’ Orphée, an adaptation of Cocteau’s 1949 movie that is a psychological retelling of the Orpheus myth through the world of dreams and the subconscious.

Portland Opera Association, $28,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season including four main stage and four chamber operas, plus education and outreach programs including Portland Opera to Go and the Portland Opera Studio Artists program.

Portland Piano International, $9,000
Operating Support: To support the recital series, featuring six world renowned pianists performing two recitals, and a week long summer festival featuring 8‐10 pianists in over 20 recitals, master classes, workshops, lectures and films.

Portland Symphonic Choir, $4,000
Operating Support: To support the work of the choir for the Oregon Symphony, as well as its performances of choral masterworks and new commissions.

Portland Symphonic Girlchoir, $5,000
Operating Support: To support the 2009‐10 season of training and performance opportunities in choral music.

Portland Youth Philharmonic Association, $5,000
To strengthen young musician leadership at PYP. Project components include communications and musical training for principal musicians and section leaders; expansion of chamber music opportunities for more players; and expanded outreach to schools through the chamber music program.

Portland Youth Philharmonic Association, $10,000
Operating Support: To support 2009‐10 activities that include pre‐professional training and performances for young musicians in four ensembles: the Philharmonic Orchestra, Conservatory Orchestra, the Young String Ensemble and Wind Ensemble.

For the Oregon Arts Commission web site, click here.

Today's Birthdays

Rudy Vallée (1901-1986)
Frank Loesser (1910-1969)
Kenneth Alwyn (1925)
Riccardo Muti (1941)

and

Ludwig A Feuerbach (1804-1872)
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889)
Beatrix Potter (1866-1843)
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968)
Malcolm Lowry (1909-1957)
John Ashbery (1927)

Chamber Music Northwest closes summer festival with some fireworks and a fond farewell

Elmar Oliveira did it again. On Sunday afternoon (July 26) the virtuoso violinist lifted the spirits of the Chamber Music Northwest audience at Kaul Auditorium with a galvanizing performance of Ernst Bloch’s “Baal Shem,” Three Pictures of Hassidic Life for Violin and Strings. As if he were a rhapsodic cantor, Oliveira weaved a tale of lamentation that plumped the depths of the human spirit before erupting in spasms of joy. His backup band, an ensemble that consisted of violinists Kyu-Young Kim and Min-Young Kim, violist Melissa Reardon, cellist Raman Ramakrishnan, and double bassist Peter Lloyd, contributed superbly to the overall effect, especially when the sound almost throbbed with melancholy. A standing ovation immediately followed this fantastic performance, and Oliveira had a smile on his face that could’ve beamed for miles.

Another terrific performance occurred right at the beginning of the concert with oboist Allan Vogel as featured performer in Mozart’s Quartet in F Major for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and Cell, K. 370 (K. 368b). Vogel’s maintained a sound that was pure gold while hitting all sorts of impossibly high notes or running over treacherously fast passages or while increasing the volume over a long period of time. It was fairly astounding, and he seemed to play a lot of the music with his eyes closed. In any case, Vogel’s supporting ensemble (violinist Benny Kim, violist Toby Appel, and cellist Raman Ramakrishnan) were outstanding as well, and their performance received a standing ovation as well.

It was harder to get a grip on Carl Nielson’s “Serenata-Invano” for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Cello, and Double Bass. Sometimes the music sounded forlorn and at other times it was jaunty and almost happy-go-lucky and at the end it seemed more like a waltz. Although the normally impeccable Milan Turkovic had some trouble with his bassoon during one of the speedy phrases, his colleagues (clarinetist David Shifrin, hornist William Purvis, cellist Raman Ramakrishnan, and double bassist Peter Lloyd) seemed to negotiate their passages with alacrity. The audience rewarded the ensemble with sustained applause.

In the next piece, Richard Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel Einmal Anders!” in an arrangement by Franz Hasenohrl it was Purvis who had problems with the high notes on his horn at the beginning. By missing those notes, it took longer for the ensemble to win over the audience, despite some fine playing by Purvis and his colleagues (Benny Kim, Shifrin, Turkovic, and Lloyd). The story of the merry prankster still came through with jocularity and the ensemble received appreciative applause.

The concert concluded with Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 (“Farewell”) in F-Sharp Minor for Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass in an arrangement by Ulf-Guido Schaefer. The first movement was exciting with its sudden bursts of energy. The second conveyed soft elegance. The third was deliciously lively, and the fourth showed off verve and drive until the big break and the final slow coda where the musicians began to leave the stage one by one until only the violins were left to finish the piece.

With violinists Min-Young Kim and Kyu-Young Kim, violist Melissa Reardon, cellist Raman Ramakrishnan, double bassist Peter Lloyd, hornist William Purvis, bassoonist Milan Turkovic, and clarinetist David Shifrin, Haydn’s masterpiece received an outstanding performance and a standing ovation as well.

Today's Birthdays

Enrique Granados (1867-1916)
Ernő Dohnanyi (1877-1960)
Igor Markevitch (1912-1983)
Mario del Monaco (1915-1982)
Carol Vaness (1952)

and

Joseph Mitchell (1908-1996)
Elizabeth Hardwick (1916-2007)

Tchaikovsky sextet brings down the house at Chamber Music Northwest concert

(Photo of Elmar Oliveria by Tucker Densley)

Tchaikovsky really knew how to create a barn burner when he wrote the String Sextet in D Minor “Souvenir de Florence,” Op. 70, and it really brought down the house at Thursday (July 23) evening’s Chamber Music Northwest concert. Even the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s gem, which started in electrifying fashion, succeeded to build tension, and then concluded with whirling dervish panache, took everyone’s breath away. I could actually hear the audience at Kaul Auditorium, which was filled to the brim, inhale collectively.

The six players on stage (violinists Elmar Oliveria and Benny Kim, violists Toby Appel and Melissa Reardon, cellists Raman Ramakrishnan and Hamilton Cheifetz) also excelled with their playing of nimble pizzicati passages, gorgeous melodies, lush chords, dashing runs, and whatever else Tchaikovsky threw their way. Twice in the fourth movement, they suddenly arrived at the same unison note and then flew away from each other like birds scatter to the winds. The very fast dance that concluded the piece caused the audience to jump to its feet and roar with approval. I’m sure that many audience members immediately thought of adding “Souvenir de Florence” to their collections if they didn’t have it already.

The concert began with Haydn’s String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 20, No. 5, which was performed by the Daedalus Quartet (violinists Min-Young Kim and Kyu-Young Kim, violist Melissa Reardon, and cellist Raman Ramakrishman). I liked the warm sound of this ensemble and how they pulled back the volume especially on passages that were repeats. Impressive also were Min-Young Kim’s plaintive sound in the second movement and her filigree which was juxtaposed with a lovely melody by her colleagues in the third. The faster but somewhat understated playing of the final movement rounded out Haydn’s music in fine fashion, and the ensemble received sustained applause from the audience.

Hornist William Purvis got a real workout in Mozart’s Quintet in E-Flat Major for Horn, Violin, and Two Violas. I loved the way that he could create a mellifluous sound despite jumping octaves and darting all over the place with ease. Aside from a couple of bobbled notes, it was peerless playing by Purvis. And his colleagues (violinist Benny Kim, violists Toby Appel and Melissa Reardon, and cellist Hamilton Cheifetz) supported Purvis with rich tones and a superb performance. Reardon, in particular, was very animated and looked like she was enjoying the collaborative music-making to the hilt. I’m sure that Mozart would’ve approved.

Today's Birthdays

Serge Koussevitsky (1874-1951)
Tadeusz Baird (1928-1981)
Alexis Weissenberg (1929)
Anthony Gilbert (1934)
Roger Smalley (1943)
Angela Hewitt (1958)
Mick Jagger (1943)

and

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Today's Birthdays

Alfredo Casella (1883-1946)
Maureen Forrester (1930)

and

Elias Canetti (1905-1994)

Elizabeth Harcombe talks about the art of page turning

Elizabeth Harcombe grew up in Roseburg, Oregon where she began playing piano at the age of 5. She was the pianist at the church where her mother served as organist. Harcombe studied music at Biola University and later got a Master of Music Education degree with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from University of Oklahoma. Harcombe has served as the rehearsal pianist at the Oregon Bach Festival for Helmut Rilling and for the Oregon Repertory Singers under Gil Seeley. She currently teaches piano at Lewis and Clark College and is the program and operations director at Chamber Music Northwest. She joined the staff at Chamber Music Northwest in 2006 and has been turning pages for visiting pianists ever since.

Do you like to turn pages?

Harcombe: Yes, I love to turn pages. I began “turning” while in Canada where I was studying piano but not allowed to work. I’m never nervous turning pages. Every musician I talk to is completely freaked out about turning pages, but for me, page turning is a natural thing because I’m a strong sight reader. You do a lot of sight reading as a page turner. I guess I could take the time to study the score, but it’s more fun to see it all go by on the stage.

You mean, you don’t attend the rehearsals?

Harcombe: No. I just show up a few minutes before going on stage and take a look at the score. Sometimes the pianist tells me of something that needs special attention like a repeat that goes back four pages. But every pianist has their own style about how they want a page to be turned. Some arrive and their scores are completely marked in the exact place where they want you to turn the page. One pianist uses a red pen with a line followed by an arrow. And that line is the exact place where I should turn the page. So there’s never a question. With other pianists it’s getting to know them and their styles. Anne Marie McDermott removes the music stand and places her score inside the piano. I sit on a stool and reach into the piano to turn. Fortunately, she folds the bottom corner of the score and inserts it in between the tuning pins so that it doesn’t fly around. Turning pages for her can be more of a challenge.

How many concerts do you turn pages for at Chamber Music Northwest?

Harcombe: We have 25 concerts in a season and I turn pages for close to 20 of them. My favorite comment is when audience members come up to me and say “You’re the page turner; you must read music.”

[Laughter]

Is there a rule of thumb regarding how far you sit away from the piano and the pianists to turn pages?

Harcombe: My philosophy, in the job of the page turner, is to provide a sense of calm in what is typically a high-pressure situation. I don’t know how nervous our artists get, but I would gather that there are some nerves on stage. The last thing I need to do is heighten the nervous energy. I want to stay as calm as possible. I try to stay back as far as I can.

I really have to pay attention regarding what is coming up. Are there low bass notes coming up? I have to be careful if I reach over to turn a page when they are coming down the keyboard or we might have a collision. I have long arms, so that helps. So the fun comes in anticipating the turn. A slow movement or a fast movement will help you determine when you are going to stand. You don’t want to stand too early during an adagio passage and then have to hold that position. So I want to find the most appropriate time to stand, and I don’t want to draw attention to myself.

Anything ever catch you off-guard?

Harcombe: One time Anne Marie McDermott was preparing herself at the keyboard to play a piece with an ensemble, and under her breath said to me, “Nice pedicure.” That’s part of the fun of being on stage. You get to see and hear some things that the audience can’t.

Once I was turning pages for an older pianist at a recording session. He was at the age where, when he sat down, the muscles needed to sit didn’t work so well, and he would begin to sit and then just plop to the bench. Well, there was a certain part in the piece that this pianist was playing where he had to get up and reach into the piano and strum the strings a little bit. And he wore fairly large glasses. So, he stood up and strummed the strings, but on his way to sit back down his glasses got caught on the music stand. I knew that there was going to be a plop and that he might take down the music stand as well. So, I quickly shifted over and put my arms around his waist and held him there while he detached his glasses from the music stand. Then he sat back down. It was a funny moment, but it worked!

It must be interesting to watch how different pianists play really difficult passages.

Harcombe: I feel like every time I’m on stage, I’m getting a lesson: the different styles of playing, how pianists listen to ensembles and interact. I get to turn for pianists a lot, and often it’s for the same pianists over the years. So I get to see how they change. Shai Wosner seems to be showing more physical expression in his style of playing than in previous years. So, I’ve become a better pianist as a result of turning pages for Chamber Music Northwest.

So now when you go to a concert that has a page turner, do you pay attention to him or her?

Harcombe: Yes! I’m critiquing page turners all the time. I can’t help myself.

Are there any general guidelines for page turners?

Harcombe: You can’t rely on a pianist to cue you with a nod, because sometimes that is just an emotional gesture at a certain point in the music and not an indication of when to turn a page. I try to get into the music with them. Sometimes they will tell me beforehand that later is better. Don’t turn the page early, wait as long as possible. They might have the first few measures of the next page memorized.

Typically there’s something about page turning that I have a feel for; so I get it figured out right away. I somehow get in sync with the needs of the pianist.

There are some little things that you have to take into consideration, like the quality of the paper. I like to check the page numbers as I turn the pages to make sure that I’m turning only one at a time. The page numbers are easiest to check when they are printed at the top rather than at the bottom. But the cheapest editions sometimes have no page numbers at all. That can be a challenge.

How do you turn pages for a new music piece that may have no bar lines or usual ways to measure where you are?

Harcombe: With contemporary music, in my opinion, it’s all about watching the gesture. You don’t count. It’s looking at the score like a piece of art. You are watching shapes go by, rather than individual notes or measures.

This year at Chamber Music Northwest , you played a piece, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue for Piano, Four Hands” with pianist Anna Polonsky.

Harcombe: Yes, and I had my own page turner, Gregory Dubay! That was really great! I hadn’t had a page turner in a long time. The piano four hands score has the primo part on one side and the secondo on the other. So you are just reading one page at a time, which is kind of tricky, because the page turner can only read one page and he or she is standing all the time since the music flies by so quickly.

What are you doing after Chamber Music Northwest finishes up this summer?

Harcombe: I’m going to Music from Angel Fire in New Mexico, which is Ida Kavafian’s festival, and am turning pages there. Ida’s administrative assistant took a job as Daniel Barenboim’s assistant and so I will be filling her shoes as well as turning pages in the concerts.

Would you consider doing page turning full time?

Harcombe: Yes! That would be my dream job. But I’d probably have to move to New York City to make that happen.

Today's Birthdays

Adolphe Charles Adam (1803-1856)
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
Robert Farnon (1917-2005)
Ruggiero Ricci (1918)
Guiseppe de Stefano (1921-2008)
Wilfred Josephs (1927-1997)
Peter Serkin (1947)
Philippe Hurel (1955)

and

Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?)
Robert Graves (1895-1985)
Frank Wedekind (1864-1918)

Bassoon buffoonery balances out Haydn and Bach

The bassoon is often associated with humor and whether that is just or unjust doesn’t matter, because even bassoonists seem to revel in the comical aspects of their chosen instrument. So, several bassoon pieces in the second half of the Chamber Music Northwest concert (July 21) at Catlin Gabel caused lots of chuckles. But the tongue-in-cheek quality of the bassoon music did not obscure the virtuosic performances by the bassoonists involved. Led by globe-trotting bassoon soloist Milan Turkovic, the bassoon numbers in Tuesday evening’s concert had an ample amount of buffoonery and were performed superbly. The bassoon-laden bravura got off to a terrific start with Conradin Kreutzer’s “Der Todte Fagott” (“The Dead Bassoon”), a humorous piece for baritone, bassoon, and piano. Kreutzer (1780-1849) apparently wrote at least 50 operas, and “Der Todte Fagott” has a lot of operatic flavor. The story tells the sound of a bassoon causes a father to murder his daughter, the daughter’s zither-playing suitor, and the suitor’s bassoon-tooting sidekick. In this performance, baritone Randall Scarlata collaborated wonderfully with bassoonist Milan Turkovic, and pianist Thomas Sauer to milk every drop of humor from this piece. Turkovic’s did marvelous word painting with his bassoon, from imitating a galloping horse and to creating the sound of a ghost. The bassoon gets the last word by taking revenge on the father, but I wonder what happened to the zither. Next came “Meeelaan” for Bassoon and String Quartet, which was written by Wynton Marsalis for Turkovic. The Miró Quartet (violinists Daniel Ching and Tereza Stanislavk, violist John Largess, and cellist Joshua Gindele) joined Turkovic to create the bluesy/jazzy meanderings of this piece, which has three movements entitled Blues, Tango, and Be-Bop. I really liked how Turkovic could blow two or more notes at the same time and his riffs while the strings suspended the sound. “Meeelaan” was followed by four piece for bassoon quartet. The battery of bassoons consisted of Turkovic, Julie Feves, Mark Eubanks, and Keith Buncke. It should be noted that Buncke at age 15 is somewhat of a bassoon prodigy. He will be attending Aspen this summer and continue his studies at Interlochen. The foursome began with Peter Schickele’s “Last Tango in Bayreuth,” a sly and funny piece that slides between themes from Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” and the Act III Prelude to “Lohengrin.” The leisurely tempo and lounge sound created an intoxicatingly humorous mood that would’ve lingered into next week if it wasn’t for the next piece, Prokofiev’s “Scherzo Humoristique.” The dexterity and supple playing of quartet was very impressive as the quartet negotiated fast passage. At one point, the clicking of multiple keys, which added a tap-dance effect to the overall sound. The quartet also performed Pat Ballard’s “Mr. Sandman” in an arrangement by Georg ter Voert, Sr. and Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” in an arrangement by Mark Eubanks. I especially enjoyed the chime-like and schmaltzy atmosphere of “Mr. Sandman” and the witty quality of “Caravan” in which Eubanks fitted in asides to “Beethoven’s 9th,” “Bolero,” and, I think, “Scheherazade” and probably a couple of other pieces. In first half the concert, Bach’s Cantata No. 82,”Ich habe genug” provided a sharp contrast in mood and content with the bassoon bravura in the second half. The text of this piece tells the thoughts of someone who is tired of the world and longs for death in Christ. I would’ve liked to have heard more of Scarlata’s expressive and smooth baritone, but the instrumentalists (the Miró Quartet, oboist Allan Vogel, double bassist Curtis Daily, and harpsichordist John Gibbons) couldn’t restrain their volume. Their sound – especially Vogel’s rich oboe – was drop-dead gorgeous, but less of it would’ve helped us to get more involved in Scarlata’s beautiful singing. The Miró Quartet opened the concert with a polished performance of Haydn’s String Quartet in F Major (OP. 74, No. 2). The grace and elegance of the music came to the forefront through the ensemble’s deft playing. In particular, the quick pace of the last movement nicely exposed the nimbleness of each musician – led by sweet sound from Ching’s violin.

Today's Birthdays

Franz Berwald (1796-1868)
Francesco Cilea (1866-1950)
Leon Fleisher (1928)
Bernard Roberts (1933)
Maria João Pires (1944)
Susan Graham (1960)

and

Raymond Chandler (1888-1959)
Vikram Chandra (1961)

Stephanie Blythe and François Racine named Seattle Opera Artists of the Year

Stephanie Blythe in Aida, 2008 © Rozarii Lynch Photo
François Racine, 2009 © Bill Mohn Photo

Last week, Seattle Opera announced that the company’s 2008/09 Artists of the Year awards went to mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe for performing the role of Amneris in Verdi’s "Aida" in August 2008, and to François Racine for his stage direction of Seattle Opera’s double bill of Bartók’s "Bluebeard’s Castle" with Schoenberg’s "Erwartung" in February and March, 2009. Seattle Opera has selected an artist of the year since 1991, and in 2004 it decided to give the award to two types of artists: the singer and the other a conductor, director, or designer.

For an interesting interview with Stephanie Blythe, click here.

Final Summer Sings with Portland Symphonic Choir

Tonight Ralph Nelson will direct an open rehearsal of works by Bach during the third and final week of "Summer Sings" with members of the Portland Symphonic Choir. Nelson is the conductor of the Bach Cantata Choir and of the choir at First Immanuel Lutheran Church.

The rehearsal will feature a chronological look at the vocal music of Johann Sebastian Bach -- from his early cantatas to his crowning achievement in the Mass in B Minor. The evening includes excerpts from the Christmas Oratorio, the B Minor Mass, the St. John Passion, and various cantatas.

So flex your vocal chords on Bach at 7 pm in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building on the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College (at the corner of Killingsworth and Albina). Also, the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building is airconditioned. The seating is comforable, and you get good sight-lines.

Admission is $10 per person at the door, and scores are provided.

Parking is free.

Today's Birthdays

Hans Rosbaud (1895-1962)
Licia Albanese (1913)
George Dreyfus (1928)
Ann Howard (1936)
Nigel Hess (1953)
Eve Beglarian (1958)

and

Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
Raymond Chandler (1888-1959)
Alexander Calder (1898-1976)
Tom Robbins (1936)

Composer Jeff Winslow reflects on the Jeremy Denk concert

I talked with Jeff Winslow after the Jeremy Denk concert (July 18) at the Portland Piano International Summer Festival, and he volunteered a review. So here is his take on Denk's recital:

Extreme ambivalence - that was my mood as Jeremy Denk's Saturday evening performance at the Portland Piano Festival approached. On the one hand, I was sorely disappointed at the program change. The original program was a near ideal melding of classic, romantic, and contemporary works, crammed with personal favorites from each period. The replacement program was restricted to a work I'd never heard - Ives's first piano sonata - and that magnificent warhorse, the Goldberg Variations. Yet I was sure, from his performance of Ives's Concord Sonata two years ago at the Festival, that the Ives would be brilliant, even definitive, and surely such a capable pianist would have something new to say about the Goldbergs.

I'm happy to report that my disappointment ended for good with the first few notes Mr. Denk struck in the Ives sonata. As in his Concord Sonata performance, he astonished with a barely imaginable combination of athleticism, passion, and over all, clarity. Presumably, like the Concord, this sonata has no pedal indications. In such a complex and many-layered work, this places the pianist almost in the role of compositional partner, and Denk once again handled that role with absolute assurance and great success. The audience seemed to agree - despite the often thorny language of the piece - they responded with an appreciative roar after the last notes had died away.

The Goldberg Variations kept the fire burning brightly through the second half. An outstanding feature of the performance was the often dramatic tempo contrast between succeeding variations, and the way in which Mr. Denk chose to repeat one or both halves of each variation individually to propel that drama. The fastest variations (and some, without losing any clarity, were spectacularly fast) rarely included repetition, but the slowest ones generally had both halves repeated. In others, only the first half was repeated. Despite this unconventional procedure, I found myself convinced by all his decisions, with the exception of the final variation, the quodlibet, in which the density of the thematic material cries out for repetition. I was especially pleased that the lovely if unfortunately numbered 13th variation was lovingly repeated in its entirety, as indeed it fully deserves. If any of this structuring was resented by the audience, one could hardly tell, since again, after respectfully allowing the last sounds to die away, they enthusiastically acclaimed the pianist. I enthusiastically joined them.

Sun Valley Summer Symphony starts next week - Deborah Voigt and other artists in free concerts

Now in its 25th year, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, led by music director Alasdair Neale, will present a number of free concerts with top-tier artists, starting with Jon Nakamatsu in a chamber music concert on Monday, July 27th and ending with Beethoven's 9th Symphony on August 18th. Other featured artists include Orli Shaham, Horacio Gutiérrez, Vadim Gluzman, Eric Kunzel, the Utah Symphony Chorus, and Deborah Voigt. Voigt will sing a program of Wagner, Verdi, Mascagni, and Giordano on August 18th. Click here for details.

Today's Birthdays

Anton Kuerti (1938)
Isaac Stern (1920-2001)
Cat Stevens (1948)
Margaret Ahrens (1950)

and

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
Garry Trudeau (1948)

Anderson & Roe = sensational duo piano concert

If you ever have the pleasure of attending a Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe concert, be sure to sit on stage. That’s where I took a seat during Sunday afternoon’s concert at the World Forestry Center where Anderson and Roe held forth just few feet away from me. They gave an electrifying performance that swept the audience into a cheering mass of humanity, making a strong case that playing piano is the most fun thing that two people could ever do together.

I got to share the stage (so to speak) with Anderson and Roe, because the concert was sold out, and they told the presenters, Portland Piano International, that they actually like some audience members on stage. The few of us who took up their offer were rewarded with a close-up view of two piano virtuosos who were totally in sync with each other. From the first piece of the recital, an Anderson & Roe arrangement of Saint-Saëns “Dance macabre,” to the last, an Anderson & Roe ragtimey arrangement of Mozart’s “Rondo alla turca,” the two pianists played as if they were one person. Whether they were racing up and down the keyboard pell mell, lingering with dreaminess over a slow passage, or executing precise cutoffs, they were always together artistically and technically, and the overall effect was astounding and a total pleasure to hear.

For most of the pieces, Anderson and Roe played opposite each other on Steinway grands, and once in a while I could hear one of them use a sharp intake of breath as a signal to start after they had reached a dramatic pause or break in the piece that they were playing. But for the most part they seemed to rely on some kind of innate and artistic sense to determine when they would play and when they would release notes at the end of a particular passage or movement. It was quite stunning to witness them do this several times as they played Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” By using two pianos, Anderson and Roe could traverse the full range of this technically demanding piece, and they really threw themselves into it with a wild abandonment that could’ve easily gone way out of bounds in the hands of lesser artists.

Impressive also was Anderson and Roe’s delicately shaped passages and seamless playing in their arrangements of “The Swan” from Saint-Saën’s “Carnival of the Animals” and “Erbarme Dich” from Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” (BWV 244). They also had a rollicking great time with their intense arrangement of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android,” giving it a smashing ending.

With their four-hands on one piano interpretation of “Vocalise” from Rachmaninoff’s “Fourteen Songs” (Op. 34, No. 14), Anderson and Roe redefined the sense of intimacy on the piano bench. It was a superbly choreographed work in which she cozied up to him, his arms were briefly around her shoulders, her hands were underneath his, his underneath hers, their hands were crisscrossing, and at it looked like they were playing footsie at the pedals.

The thunderous ovation at the end of the concert brought Anderson and Roe back on stage for two encores. The first was their sensual arrangement of Piazzolla’s “Libertango” and the second was a scintillating, glissando-ing rendition of Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance.”

Judging from the crowds of young people who were asking for their autographs after the concert, there will certainly be some attempts by their new fans to follow in their footsteps. But it also makes me wonder why so few pianists have tried to capture the public’s imagination in a similar way. Katia and Marielle Labèque are perhaps the most prominent duo in North America, but few other names come readily to mind. I don’t know how much literature has been published for piano duos, but the amount doesn’t seem to matter to Anderson and Roe because they are writing their own new pieces.

In any case, I hope that Anderson and Roe return to Portland soon, and I’ll be ready to sit on stage with them again.

Today's Birthdays

Vilém Tauský (1910-2004)
Michael Gielen (1927)
Nam June Paik (1932)
Hukwe Zawose (1938-2003)
Carlos Santana (1947)
Bob Priest (1951)

and

Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374)
Pavel Kohout (1928)

Ives and Bach receive transcendent treatment from Denk

Jeremy Denk gave the concert of a lifetime on Saturday evening (July 18) as part of the recital series offered at the World Forestry Center as part of the Portland Piano International Summer Festival. This was a one of those rare performances that made this listener feel more alive, more aware, and more appreciative of everything in the world. And Denk accomplished this with a very demanding program (that he changed earlier in the week) that consisted of Ives’s Sonata No. and Bach “Goldberg Variations” (BWV 988).

Very few seats were still available when Denk came on stage and introduced the Ives’ Sonata with brief, yet incisive information about the themes in the piece. According to Denk, who picked up a score in the bargain rack a music store, this five-movement work loosely tells how a Connecticut farming family and its wayward son. Ives uses hymns like “I was a Wandering Sheep” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” to refer to mindset of the mother whose son had left the farm and embarked on his own pilgrimage, which apparently landed him in a dissipated state at a ragtime roadhouse.

I found Denk’s introduction to be very helpful in following the convolutions of Ives’ music. But even without the verbal program notes, it was easy to appreciate Denk’s evocative playing. He expressed turmoil, wistfulness, wildness, struggle, anguish, and a brief sense of enchantment. The explosive changes in mood – from aimless meanderings to violent turbulence – riveted the audience and built up the swirl of the story.

After intermission, Denk delivered a rapturous performance of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire. In Denk’s hands, each of the 30 variations of this piece created a jewel-like impression. Denk displayed terrific control and imagination as his traversed the soundscape of this work. His pianissimos whispered. His fortes sprang to attention. He made the music sing and, at times, speak to us with crisp diction. He easily made the music sound introverted and at other times extroverted. All in all, Denk brought the entire scope of Bach’s music to us in a way that elevated the senses.

I don’t know when Denk will return to Portland for his next concert, but I hope that we won’t have to wait too long. In the meantime, he is playing at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival from July 24 through July 31.