Today's Birthdays

Max Steiner (1888-1971)
Dmitri Tiokin (1894-1979)
Artie Shaw (1910-2004)
Richard Lewis (1914-1990)
Milton Babbit (1916)
Maxim Shostakovich (1938)
Lori Dobbins (1958)

and

Karl Barth (1886-1968)

Today's Birthdays

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Carlo Maria Giulini (1914-2005)
Nigel Douglas (1929)
Billy Joel (1949)
Michel Beroff (1950)
Linda Finnie (1952)
Anne Sofie von Otter (1955)
Alison Hagley (1961)

and

James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937)
Charles Simic (1938)
Joy Harjo (1951)

Review: John Paul's 'City Girl' Score wows at Oregon Sesquicentennial Film Festival

The James Ivory Theater at Marylhurst University was full to capacity Friday night, May 8, for a special presentation of the Oregon Sesquicentennial Film Festival. The film was famed director F.W. Murnau's 1930 silent opus City Girl, accompanied by a brand-new original score by composer John Paul, head of Marylhurst's music department. Paul directed clarinettist Barbara Heilmair Tanret, violinist Julie Coleman, violist Joël Belgique and cellist Justin Kagan.

The film tells the story of beautiful Kate, a tough, hard-working Chicagoan who works at a bustling lunch counter constantly patronized by a horde of leering, demanding goons, and Lem, a naive Minnesota farm boy who is sent to the city by his father with the all-important task of selling the family's wheat crop for that year. Subsequently they fall in love and get married, much to Lem's family's chagrin, and Kate follows Lem back to the wheatfields of Minnesota (actually filmed in 1928 outside Athena in Eastern Oregon) trying to gain acceptance from Lem's family and adjust to life on the farm.

Murnau originally wanted to call this film 'Our Daily Bread,' so in honor (it would seem) of the director's vision Paul entitled the prelude 'Give Us This Day.' The prelude and score for the title screen reminded one of Copland's rendering of Americana: stately and dignified, the music painted visions of the heartland with broad brushstrokes, harmonically uncluttered and straightforward, complementing rather than competing with Murnau's pastoral cinematography.

Paul's composition showed a wide range of textural variation throughout; having only four instrumentalists, he made maximum use of the many timbres available to these skilled players. There were light-hearted moments, such as the moto perpetuo theme depicting a train ride to the city. There were strange pizzicato motifs tossed about between the strings, bearing uncertain tonal relationships to the underlying texture; this represented the Farm Board, and young Lem's attempt to sell the wheat for the price his father demanded. There was true pathos in Paul's scoring of the family's benediction--we never hear the words of the prayer, but both the film and the score leave no doubt as to the dire consequences should Lem fail in his task.

Kate's workplace occupies a large part of the early film, and Paul used a spiky, mechanistic leitmotif driven by the clarinet (an instrument often used for Kate herself) to depict the hustle and bustle of the lunch counter. A menacing, sawing cello theme represented Lem's angry, glowering father, who is very, almost violently suspicious of his new daughter-in-law. Frightening, fortissimo chord sequences accompanied the confrontations between Lem's father and Kate, Lem and his father, and also heralded the arrival of a hailstorm that threatens to ruin the crop before it can be harvested; Paul used these moments judiciously, and therefore to a heightened emotional effect.

The mechanics of conducting this type of presentation seemed daunting. Paul was constantly looking between the screen, the score, and the players, and for the most part everything was synchronized amazingly well, given the difficult logistical nature of the undertaking. In the moments when things didn't quite align, Paul called out bar numbers and, aside from one or two instances, the players segued to the appropriate measure seamlessly. All of the musicians deserve high praise for the skill and subtlety of their delivery. It seemed as though everyone shared a similar vision, from an artistic and a technical standpoint, and great dexterity was required to pull this off.

Before the show Paul informed the audience that during the days before 'talkies,' a pianist or organist would often improvise and/or play various well-known classics or pop-tunes to fit the film. In homage to that, Paul mentioned in the program notes that Berg, Weill, Bartok and Copland (I also fancied (much to my delight)that I heard tiny snippets of Danny Elfmanesque harmonic progressions) were all inspirations for his composition.

The audience went wild afterward: foot-stomping, whistling, cheering, clapping and a hearty chorus of huzzahs greeted the composer after the lights came back on. All in all the entire project was a fascinating and worthwhile experience. Murnau's film was incredibly powerful, the actors (especially Mary Duncan as Kate) were intense, so Paul had his work cut out for him. To his credit, he embraced the melodrama of the film rather than using his composition to critique it: in no way did the 'soundtrack' betray self-aggrandizement on the part of the composer, but rather it showed a deference to Murnau's artistic vision.

Bloggers at Portland Opera's Rigoletto

Here's a very short video that I made during intermission at Portland Opera's Rigoletto:

Today's Birthdays

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

and

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

Arts Advocacy

President Obama released his proposed funding for the NEA and other arts-related organizations today. The details are in this missive from the Americans for the Arts organization:

President Obama today released the final details of his FY 2010 budget request to Congress which includes the nation’s cultural agencies and programs, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS), and the Department of Education’s Arts in Education program. Write your members of Congress and tell them to support funding for these cultural agencies.

As Americans for the Arts President & CEO Robert Lynch noted in a press statement, "The president's proposed funding of $161 million would take the NEA to its highest funding level in 15 years and will help continue the upward trend of budgetary growth that Congress established several years ago. In contrast to the previous administration, this year's budget includes funding for the Arts in Education program at the Department of Education at $38.16 million. We hope that Congress will build on these initial budget requests to secure even higher funding levels to address the needs of the arts and arts education community."

On Arts Advocacy Day, artists Wynton Marsalis, Linda Ronstadt and Josh Groban joined Americans for the Arts and over 550 arts advocates from around the country to testify on Capitol Hill and to meet with congressional leaders to request $200 million for the NEA and $53 million for arts education. These requests are just some of the legislative priorities for the nonprofit arts community in 2009.

A breakdown of the President’s budget request is as follows:

Today's Birthdays

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Elisabeth Soderstrom (1927)
Philip Land (1950)
Robert Spano (1961)

and

Robert Browning (1812-1889)
Archibald MacLeish (1892-1962)

Cappella Romana to sing Kyr piece at UNESCO conference

This coming Sunday (May 8), Cappella Romana will perform Robert Kyr's "A Time for Life" at the UNESCO conference, which is being held in Eugene. The concert starts at 7 pm and the cost is only $10 ($8 for students). For more information about the conference, including a schedule of events (many of which are free of charge) click here. I heard Cappella Romana perform this piece last year and can recommend it highly.

Today's Birthdays

Jascha Horenstein (1898-1973)
Godfrey Ridout (1918-1984)
Murry Sidlin (1940)
Ghena Dimitrova (1941-2005)

and

Robert Peary (1856-1920)
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Randall Jarrell (1914-1965)

Opera novices will blog about Rigoletto

This Friday at Portland Opera's "Rigoletto," six bloggers will record their thoughts about Verdi's famous melodrama. They have been invited by Portland Opera to participate in this first ever Blogger Night @ The Opera. Six local bloggers will receive a back stage tour, attend the opening night performance of "Rigoletto," and then blog about their experience from the Keller Auditorium lobby before, during intermission and after the show. (Vancouver Opera recently tried this idea and, from the online postings, it looked like a successful endevor.)

Each blogger’s individual posts will appear on their own websites
simultaneously. The bloggers are:

- Julie Grauert, host of KPTV's Good Day Oregon (http://www.kptv.com/newsteam/14246159/detail.html)
- Mike Russell of CulturePulp (culturepulp.typepad.com)
- Dieselboi of OurPDXNetwork (ourpdx.com)
- Brandon Hartley of another portland blog (anotherportlandblog.com)
- Geoff Kleinman of On Portland (onpdx.com)
- Someone from BikePortland.org - which already has a great posting about oprea singers on bicycles

The links to each blog will also be available at the Portland Opera website (portlandopera.org).

Today's Birthdays

Hans Pfizner (1869-1947)
Maria Caniglia (1905-1979)
Kurt Böhme (1908-1989)
Charles Rosen (1927)
Mark Ermler (1932)
Tammy Wynette (1942-1998)

and

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

Seattle Opera delights with well-balanced Figaro

Rozarii Lynch photo

A fine sense of teamwork helped to create a funny and rewarding performance of Mozart's “The Marriage of Figaro” at Seattle Opera on opening night (Saturday, May 2) at McCaw Hall. The high-spirited and complex plot of this comedy creates many opportunities for something to go awry, yet the principals collaborated with expert timing to make all of the shenanigans work without a hitch and the audience loved every minute of it.

In the role of Figaro, Oren Gradus combined a supple and resonant baritone with outstanding acting to enhance the story with warmth, good humor, and occasional furry (like when he suspects his fiancé of a dalliance with the Count). Christine Brandes created a sensational Susanna, displaying a beautiful soprano tone and having fun throughout the entire opera. The scene in which she uses her feminine wiles to arouse the Count was just one of many that captured the attention of the audience as well.

As Count Almaviva, Mariusz Kwiecien swaggered with virility. And with the penitent plea at the end of the story, when he asks for forgiveness from his wife, Kwiecien gave the Count some genuineness that effectively countered the impression that he made as sensuous, worldly, and utterly vain nobleman. Twyla Robinson’s Countess Almaviva was dignified and aptly conveyed the suffering of a wife who wanted the affections of her husband.

Daniela Sindram embodied the fidgety and amorous Cherubino with aplomb. She conveyed love-struck teenager to such a degree that she could, while seated, make her knee nervously bob up and down and sing at the same time. Sindram’s “Voi che sapete che cosa è amor” (“You who know what love is”) was one of the many highlights of the evening.

The minor roles were excellent as well. Joyce Castle’s elderly Marcellina and Arthur Woodley’s Dr. Bartolo blustered about with excellent timing Ted Schmitz played music master Don Basilio and a wheelchair-ridden notary Don Curzio with a gleeful smirk. Barry Johnson got lots of laughs as the alcoholic gardener Antonio, and Leena Chopra created a delightfully lithe Barbarina.

Conductor Dean Williamson and orchestra had many fine moments, starting with the overture which chirped happily. Williamson also played the harpsichord with a flourish that added sparkle to this production. Yet all was not completely flawless. A few notes were missed, and the singers got out of sync with the conductor, albeit briefly.

Clear stage directions by Peter Kazaras kept the plot from becoming confusing. The audience always knew which letter was being discussed, who was serenading whom, and who could hear but could not see what was happening.

Jonathan Dean deserves praise for his succinct English supertitles, but sometimes they seemed too minimalist. There was a sense that too much text was flying without translation. Even a couple of “Oh Heavens” for “O cielo” would’ve been nice.

The scenery, constructed by the Banff Centre, evoked the interior of a mansion in the French style of the late 18th century. The pastel greens and nudes on the interior walls suggested nature and aptly pointed toward the final scene in the garden where all of the humorous assignations took place. Deborah Trout’s costumes, executed by Seattle Opera, were traditional yet colorful. Lighting designer Connie Yun accented the production superbly.

Rozarii Lynch photo

Today's Birthday

Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731)
Mátyás Seiber (1905-1960)
Tatiana Nikolayeva (1924-1993)
Roberta Peters (1930)
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (1931)
Marisa Robles (1937)
Enrique Batiz (1942)

and

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

Cappella Romana sings “Byzantium in Rome”

By guest reviewer Aaron Berenbach

The performance of Cappella Romana’s “Byzantium in Rome” was an intriguing glimpse into the history of sacred music at a point where civilizations from the Greek East and Latin West were meeting and combining. The cultural and political context of the Greek peninsula reflected the competing influences of not only east and west, but also of the encroaching Arab influence spreading its way through that portion of the world. Celebrating the millennial anniversary of the founding of the Abbey of Grottaferrata, Friday’s concert emphasized the differing aspects of that monastery’s musical heritage as well as its founder, St. Neilos the New.

Led by scholar, performer, and artistic director, Dr. Alexander Lingas, Cappella Romana presented the audience with the medieval forbears of the modern chant repertory heard today in Greek Orthodox churches. An act of both artistry and interpretation, the performance as a whole can be considered a great success.

In the warm confines of St. Mary’s cathedral, with the evening light diffusing through the stain glass windows, the haunting melodies and harmonies of Cappella Romana’s nine current performers filled the air with a rich, enveloping sound, prompting a mood both contemplative and reverent. As the first few pieces ended, the audience was reluctant to even applaud, afraid to break the spell woven by a combination of deep, resonant drone sounds overlaid with sweeping melismas.

Anyone familiar with the sacred musics of the religions that sprang from the Mediterranean region would have recognized elements in Friday night’s performance. This music came from the synthesis between the Palestinian Christian cycle of prayer and that of Constantinople. (FYI: Both were in place before Islam even existed - so there was no Islamic influence.) The low, slowly changing notes of the bass singers combined beautifully with the cantillations of the melody putting this reviewer in mind of both the call to prayer heard from Islamic Mosques as well as the voice of the Cantor at a Jewish synagogue. A concert such as this does much to remind one of the shared cultural and musical history that ties together much of the modern world.

The performers themselves seemed personally connected to the music, often closing their eyes and smiling to relish a particularly pleasing bit of harmony. At times they seemed to almost forget themselves as the nine voices wove together into one large sound, filling the cathedral with the spiritual music of another age. The audience too was caught in the wash of resonance, forgetting momentarily the hot, still air and the crowded presence of the other attendees. It seemed as if the first half of the concert passed in a moment, leaving a hushed silence in it’s wake, which quickly gave way to appreciative applause. The second half, featuring the music of the feast of the Pentecost, passed equally quickly, capturing the same joyful yet deliberative character.

The history of sacred music is a long tale full of interesting stories and asides. Presented in such an alluring and well-performed manner, the snippet of history that is offered for consideration by “Byzantium in Rome” is well worth exploration. Looking back to a time where monks devoted their entire lives to study and worship, much beauty can be found in the fruits of their labor. Regardless of religious intent, the effort to express the sacred through the human voice is effectively and tastefully communicated through the works of Cappella Romana.

-----

Aaron Berenbach is studying music composition with Bob Priest at Marylhurst University and pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter/composer/teacher.

Today's Birthdays

Richard D'Oyly Carte (1844-1901)
Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)
Bing Crosby (1903-1977)
Sir William Glock (1908-2000)
Léopold Simoneau (1916-2006)
Pete Seeger (1919)
Jonathan Harvey (1939)

and

Niccol Machiavelli (1469-1527)
May Sarton (1912-1995)

Today's Birthdays

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Alan Rawstorned (1905-1971)
Philippe Herreweghe (1947)
Valery Gergiev (1953)

and

Jerome K Jerome (1859-1927)

McDuffie-Dutton-Kirshbaum Trio play Chamber Music Northwest

Thursday night, Chamber Music Northwest featured the McDuffie-Dutton-Kirshbaum Trio in the last CMNW concert before the summer festival. Kaul Auditorium at Reed College was packed despite competition from the Blazers playoff game versus Houston, a fact which prompted wry jokes from the stage throughout the evening.

In a program featuring duos and trios by Beethoven, Schubert and Ravel, violinist Robert McDuffie, violist Lawrence Dutton, and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum demonstrated individual virtuosity and near-perfect synchronicity as an ensemble. The only performer to play in all four of the evening's offerings, Kirshbaum especially impressed; he is without a doubt one of the most gifted cellists I have ever heard.

The unfinished Triosatz in B-Flat Major (D. 471) by Schubert opened the performance. The sighing, murmuring cello, the viola see-sawing a soft pedal point staccato and the singing of the violin seemed to ebb and flow organically, like a serenade to the glorious evening sunshine fading behind the green outside. It was particularly delightful--Schubert at his high-classical best. It felt almost cruel when the music suddenly softened and died without warning.

Up next was the Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello (1920-22.) To call Ravel’s weltering sonic dreamscape ‘difficult’ would be a gross understatement. Musicologist Bob Kingston related an anecdote in which Helene Jourdan-Morhange, the violinist who premiered the work, spoke about the frustrations of practicing it in front of the composer. “It must be fun to write such difficult stuff,” she said to Ravel, “but no one’s going to play it but virtuosi.” “Good,” he replied, “at least I won’t be assassinated by amateurs.”

Playing this piece at the level it demands required the utmost concentration and artistry from even these top-caliber performers. McDuffie and Kirshbaum had everything they could do simply fulfilling the technical requirements of this work, and yet they also managed a deft and nuanced interpretation. Harmonically speaking the piece wove in and out of atonality and polytonality; the pair’s ability to seamlessly weave together a murderous array of syncopated melodic motives, navigate a menacing forest of thorny pizzicato chords that flashed back and forth to con arco with blinding speed and still play with such precision was exciting. Hearing two such performers display this sheer unanimity of purpose was nothing short of remarkable. The audience seemed overwhelmed and almost aghast—whether at the audacity of the composition, the brilliance of the performance or both was not quite discernible.

The all-Beethoven second half opened with the Duo in E-Flat Major “Eyeglass” (WoO 32.) Despite a clever, recurring sight gag focusing on eyeglasses, this piece for viola and cello didn’t always display the degree of polish that was present in the others. Some misalignment between players, bobbled notes and lackluster phrasing occasionally plagued this work.

The grand finale was the Trio in G Major (Op. 9, No. 1). Both of the Beethoven works preceded the turn of the 19th century, and so highlighted the grand, noble classicism of his earlier oeuvre. Presenting a full-throated wall of sound that seemed almost impossible coming from only three instruments, they at turns played in a glorious cantabile even when the work demanded rapid, sparkling brilliance. The dynamics swelled and receded resplendently, and for all its technical demands it managed to come off sounding light and easy. The Presto finale was taken at a truly furious tempo, and the trio’s phrasing included an electric, moody martellato that paid homage to the brilliance of the piece.

Free trial offer of Met Player this weekend

You can bring the Metropolitan Opera to your computer screen for free this weekend by trying out its Met Player. This offer extends from today until Sunday. Met Player will stream the operas that you select, and there are 200 to chose from, including a number in High Definition format.

Here's more info from the Metropolitan Opera's press release:

he Metropolitan Opera will offer a free weekend of unlimited access to Met Player, the subscription service that makes much of the company’s extensive video and audio catalog of full-length performances available to the public online, in exceptional, state-of-the-art quality. The free preview begins at 5pm ET on Friday, May 1, and runs through midnight on Sunday, May 3. During this time, users logging into Met Player will have access to the entire collection of more than 200 audio and video performances, including 20 of the company’s acclaimed HD productions from the first three seasons of The Met: Live in HD series. HD titles recently added to the Met Player catalog include this season’s transmissions of Massenet’s Thaïs starring Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, Puccini’s La Rondine featuring Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala. Met Player also features the wide range of Music Director James Levine’s work, from Mozart’s comic masterpiece Cosi fan Tutte to Wagner’s epic Ring cycle.

Recent upgrades to Met Player include the addition of multi-language subtitles (French, German, and Spanish) to the current season’s HD titles; English subtitles are available for all videos (but can be turned off if preferred).

Met Player offers a wealth of video performances to choose from, including Puccini’s La Bohème with Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti (1977), Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s Otello (1995), and Verdi’s La Forza del Destino with Leontyne Price (1984), as well as the recent HD live shows from the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, including Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez in Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment. Some of the initial offerings have never been seen since their original television broadcasts: Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci with Tatiana Troyanos, Teresa Stratas, and Domingo (1978); Price’s legendary farewell performance in Verdi’s Aida (1985); and Tschaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades with Galina Gorchakova and Domingo (1999).

The legendary audio performances include Bizet’s Carmen starring Rosa Ponselle (1937), as well as other Met radio performances from such celebrated artists as Carlo Bergonzi, Jussi Bjoerling, Maria Callas, Franco Corelli, Mario del Monaco, Lauritz Melchior, Zinka Milanov, Birgit Nilsson, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi, and Richard Tucker.

In order to register for the free weekend of Met Player, users must have an active username and password for the Met website. New users can set this up by visiting the “Register” page at metopera.org and providing basic contact information. No credit card will be required. Additional information will be available on the Met website during this free period to assist customers.

Subscription fees are priced at $14.99 per month or $149.99 for a yearly plan. As a special benefit for Met members who contribute at the $125 level or above, a six-month introductory package is available for $49.99. Individual purchases will cost $4.99 for HD videos and $3.99 for an audio performance or non-HD video; these individual purchases may be played in a six-hour period within 30 days. Met Player will provide a free downloadable audio and video website player with any rental or subscription order. A one week free trial subscription will be available to anyone after registration.

Review of Conrad Tao's concert in American Record Guide

My review of Conrad Tao's concert for the Portland Piano Recital series is in the current issue (May/June) of the American Record Guide on page 33. Tao, who is only 14 years old, gave an incredible concert. Although you can't read the guide online, you can purchase a copy at Classical Millennium.

Today's Birthdays

Sophia Dussek (1775-1831)
Walter Susskind (1913-1980)
Gary Bertini (1927-2005)
Judy Collins (1939)

and

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